#after all Mia is a disney princess

[timeguardians]

❛ you’re a terrible flirt you know. ❜ - jacquimo swallow being a a cheeky birb (@elecctricsugars) for any one your muses

So stomping on a suitors toes and pushing him into a fountain hadn't gotten glossed over by the press. "What am I supposed to do Jacquimo? Her shoulders droop in defeat. She dips her fingers into the basket of fries she'd bought and offers him a few.

"I'm a disaster. A -- clumsy, try to hard, mess." A huff is forcibly expelled from Mia's lungs as her gaze coasted their surroundings. "Don't birds, you know, fly away or something when things get -- hard? I don't know." Her hand gently nudges the back of her hat.

[maddie-dog-story-blog]

The Playdate - 1

"Come on, Mia! Get your little tushy in gear! We're already late!" Lisa, Mia's girlfriend yelled at the 25-year-old woman from the garage.

Mia was dragging her feet. The newly minted attorney was wearing her favorite, pink, My Little Pony T-shirt. Her cute jean shorts, embroidered with multicolored hearts and stars, were worn over childish, cotton Disney-princess panties. On her feet, she wore white socks with frills on the top under light-up, pink sneakers. Her hair was tied back in braids with cute pink ribbons tied into bows holding them in place. On top of her head sat her pink sunglasses with heart shaped rims. If it wasn't for her small, but noticable breasts, and curvy ass, she could have easily been mistaken for a second grader. And, given the Mommy Domme/Little Girl relationship she was in with Lisa, that was the point.

Normally, Mia would be ecstatic to have a 'middle' day out in the world with Lisa. Exploring her surroundings with all of the exuberance of a grade schooler while her 'Mommy' looked after her was exhilarating. Today, though, Mia was upset. Instead of going to the zoo, to a park, or to an aquarium, they were going over to Mommy's best friend Sasha's house for a playdate with Sasha's little, Tammy.

Mia hated playdates with Tammy. Mia had to agree, when Lisa brought it up, that Lisa and Tammy were always more than friendly and kind to her. However, in middle-mode, playdates with Tammy were always the worst.

Despite both women being into ageplay, Lisa preferred to act like she looked currently: like a precocious, sometimes bratty, sometimes angelic, seven-year-old. Tammy, however, on her best day, acted like a stupid, smelly little two-year-old. Worse, in Mia's opinion, sometimes, if Tammy was feeling really little, she would let herself regress so far that she wouldn't even let herself crawl. That meant that Sasha and Tammy's house was full of nothing but baby toys and every playdate in their home was incredibly boring for Mia as a middle.

However, if that was it, Mia wouldn't complain so much. She could always overcome boredom with a little tablet time, and, to keep the peace, Lisa was always ready to allow her to have that.

No, what worried Mia more than being bored playing with Tammy was Sasha. Despite always being kind and friendly to Mia, Mia couldn't help but feel like she was being stared at by a predator every time she was around the woman. Mia was resolutely a middle, not a little, meaning she never wore pull-ups or diapers, didn't use a pacifier, ate mostly adult foods, and, only rarely sucked her thumb. Mia had absolutely no interest in acting like a big smelly baby like Tammy.

Mia was certain, however, that Sasha wanted to drop Mia to Tammy's level. When Mia and Lisa spent time with Sasha and Tammy, Sasha was always 'accidentally' treating Mia like an infant or toddler. She'd bring Mia her juice in a bottle or sippy cup. She'd only talk to her in baby talk. Once, when Tammy pooped her pants, Sasha pulled back Mia's shorts and checked her first, causing the small woman to turn bright red in embarrassment.

However, every time Sasha was called out on her behavior, she quickly apologized and stated it was all just "a force of habit." Lisa always bought that excuse. Mia was not so certain.

Adding to Mia's fears about Sasha, Mia was certain that just two weeks ago she had caught Sasha trying to convince Mia's Mommy to put Mia in diapers over the phone. Mia confronted Lisa about the conversation, and the other woman had denied that that was what it was about. But, Mia had been with her Mommy long enough to know when her caregiver was lying to her.

And, that is what has brought Mia to her current predicament, armed with her pink, kid's edition, Kindle Fire, her pink headphones with cat ears, and a pack of gum, trying to delay her playdate with Baby Tammy at all costs.

"Come on, Mia! It's time to go! Stop lollygagging!" Lisa yelled at again from the door connecting the garage to the kitchen.

"But, Mom, do we have to? Tammy is SOOO boring?" Mia yelled back, knowing her protests were futile.

"Yes, we are going. We are not having this argument again. Sasha is Mommy's best friend, and I want to spend time with her. If playing with Baby Tammy gets too boring, you can always play with your tablet like you always do," Lisa lectured her partner.

Mia just sighed in response and walked to the car. She knew from experience there was no use fighting her partner on this issue. As Lisa jumped in the driver's seat, Mia climbed into her booster seat in the back and buckled herself in.

The drive to Sasha and Tammy's house didn't take long. In less than twenty minutes, Mia found herself standing next to Lisa on Sasha and Tammy's porch, knocking on the door. During the car ride, Mia has popped a stick of bubblegum into her mouth and was blowing bubbles impatiently while they waited for the door to open.

"Now, remember kiddo, I want you in your best behavior. Any shenanigans out of you will result in punishments, understood?" Lisa hissed out quietly.

POP

Lisa let the bubble she was blowing pop before responding, "Yes, Mom," and rolling hers eyes.

POP

"MIIIIAAAAAA!!!!!"

As Mia let her next bubblegum bubble pop, the door flung open and she was enveloped in a giant uncoordinated huge. Both the excited, childish tone of the hugger and the smell of stale urine and baby powder announced the identity of Mia's assailant as much as her visage. Tammy, the giant baby woman, who was 8 inches taller and 75 pounds heavier than Mia, squeezed the smaller woman tightly to her chest as she spoke.

"Me's so 'cited to see ya', Mia! Me miss you!" Tammy followed the statement by planting a messy, drooly kiss on Mia's lips. Mia pulled back in disgust. She went to wipe her lips clean, but as she reached her hand to her mouth, Tammy caught it and started to drag her friend forward. "Come on, Mia! Letth pway!" Tammy said as she all but carried Mia towards the front door.

Only a firm hand stopped Tammy from immediately carrying off her friend to her playroom.

"Patience, baby!" Sasha giggled, halting her charge's momentum, "Little Mia just got her! Let's give her a second to get settled before you run off with her. Maybe she wants something to drink or needs to go potty!"

Mia appreciated Sasha saving her from being carried off by Tammy like one of the bigger woman's dolls. But, she bristled at the use of the name 'Little Mia' and the subtly infantilizing statement about the 'potty.' Mia looked over at her own Mom for support, but only got a stern look that screamed, "Suck it up, buttercup."

Mia took a deep, calming breath before responding, as cheerily as she could muster, "Thanks, Miss Sasha! I don't need to use the bathroom, but some juice sounds nice!"

Lisa quickly followed Mia's words as she embraced her friend in a hug, "And I could do for some Mommy-juice, if you know what I mean. Good to see you again, sweetie." Lisa punctuated her statement by given her friend a platonic peck on the cheek.

"Well, let's not just stand around out here, come on in, and I'll get you both set up!" Sasha said as she lead both women into the house.

Tammy, for her part, bounced ahead of the procession, practically vibrating with toddler-like energy.

"Mommy, can me haf sum juice too? Me knows me not supposta, but, if Mia gets some," Tammy letting her question trail off as, much to Mia's frustration, Tammy drew a comparison between the middle and the little.

Mia bit her tongue again as Sasha responded. Mia was a middle, not some stupid adult-toddler, she could control her emotions like a big girl.

"Sure, baby, a little juice won't hurt you, and since your little friend here is having a glass too, it wouldn't seem fair to restrict you to milk or water like normal," Sasha said.

"Fanks, Mama!" Tammy responded exuberantly.

"Tammy, your Mommy told me you are starting something exciting today?" Lisa said quickly, changing the subject before Mia lost her cool.

"Yeth, Mith Lisa! Me potty training like a big girl!" Lisa lifted the front of the pink sundress she was wearing, showing off the extra-large GoodNites pull-up wrapped around her bottom underneath. To no one's shock, the padding already looked damp.

Lisa knelt down to inspect the padded underwear. "That's wonderful Tammy, but it looks like you might have had a potty accident," Lisa said, sliding a finger inside of the leg gathers of the pull-up to confirm how wet it was.

The energy immediately drained out of the large adult-baby. Tammy's face turned as pink as her undergarment as she looked at her feet despondently.

"Me sowwy, Mith Lisa. Me didn't even notice!" Tears started to swell up in Tammy's eyes as she spoke.

"Hush, that's okay! You're not supposed to be perfect your first day! Why don't you let Miss Lisa change you into a fresh pull-up while your Mommy gets everyone their juice?" Mia's partner said soothingly.

Tammy's mood instantly improved. "Otay, Mith Lisa, leth go!" Tammy grabbed Lisa by the hand and dragged the caregiver down the hall, off to her nursery.

Much to Mia's chagrin, that left her alone in the kitchen with Sasha. Mia awkwardly shuffled from foot to foot, playing with the cord of her headphones like a fidget while Sasha poured juice and wine for her guests.

"How are you doing little one? Have you been having lot's of fun with your Mommy lately? It sounds like you've been having all sorts of adventures," Sasha asked as she turned around and handed Mia a sippy cup full of what appeared to be grape juice.

"Uh, yeah, Miss Sasha, me and Mom have been having a great time! We, uh, went to the zoo the other day," Mia stopped talking and scrunched up her face as she was handed the sippy cup. "Um, I'm really sorry Miss Sasha, but, you know, I'm a big girl, I don't need a sippy cup."

Sasha dramatically slapped her hand to her forehead in response to Mia's statement. "Oh, I'm so sorry, little one! I just forget you're a big girl. I mean, you are so little standing next to my Little Tammy, I always just assume you're a little like her! Let me grab that cup from you, and I'll fix that."

Mia smiled graciously as she handed the cup back to Sasha, pleasantly surprised that the woman wasn't putting up a bigger fight. "Thank you, ma'am!" Mia chirped politely.

Sasha quickly turned around and poured the juice in the sippy cup into a more mature plastic cup without a lid for Mia. She turned around and held the cup out for Mia to grab. Mia reached out to grab it. As she did, however, Sasha inexplicably and unexpectedly moved the hand holding the cup into Mia's outstretched one, causing Sasha to lose her grip on the cup. Grape juice got all over the floor of the kitchen and, distressingly for Mia, all over her clothes.

"Oh my goodness!" Sasha said, inspecting the small woman now drenched in grape juice, "I thought you said you were a big girl and didn't need a sippy cup? Now you've spilt your juice everywhere and ruined your pretty clothes! Maybe you aren't as big as you think, huh?"

The predatory grin that haunted Mia's nightmares appeared on Sasha's face.

"What? No! But? You! You spilt the juice, I was just reaching for it?" Mia sputtered out. The small woman knew this wasn't her fault. Why was Sasha blaming this on her?

"Really? That's how you want to play it? Lie and say that it was my fault? I'm an adult, Mia. A real adult, not just an overgrown toddler playing pretend like you. Adults don't spill drinks. Kids do."

This was outrageous! How did that woman think she'd get away talking to her like this? How did that woman think that she could frame her for making this mess? Mia stomped her foot in righteous indignation.

"I am not a TODDLER! I did not spill the juice! You did!" Mia wailed as she stomped her foot again.

Unfortunately for the proud middle, just as she was confronting Sasha, her caregiver was coming around the corner.

"Mia Eileen! Are you throwing a temper tantrum? We've only been her for five minutes!" Lisa started to lay into her girlfriend, "I told you to behave and… oh my goodness, are you covered in juice? You ruined your outfit!"

"Mom! It's not my…" Mia was cut off by Sasha.

"Oh, Lisa, please don't be mad at Mia, it wasn't her fault. I tried to give her juice in a sippy cup, and she said she didn't need a sippy cup. But, when I gave her a big girl cup, she immediately spilt it everywhere. I should have known better then to believe her," Sasha said, placing a hand on Mia who was about to explode in anger. "And, it's not her fault she's having a temper tantrum. You know how baby girls like her have such a hard time controlling their emotions. Please don't hold that against you sweet baby girl!"

Mia immediately bit her tongue. Being reminded that only babies couldn't control their emotions forced her to realize that if she kept tantruming, she'd be playing right into the malevolent Mommy Domme's plan.

Mia took a deep breath, "Sorry, Mom. It was my fault; I was just, clumsy. It won't happen again."

Lisa let her rage subside, seeing Mia seemingly take responsibility for her behavior. Sasha smiled darkly, letting her hand slide to the small of Mia's back.

"Lisa, let me take Mia and find her new clothes. Tammy's quite a bit bigger than her, but we have a couple of outfits that were too small when we bought them and never returned. I'm sure one of them will fit," Sasha offered.

A pit formed in Mia's stomach. She knew that anything Sasha had bought for Tammy was going to be far to babyish for her tastes. However, she also knew she didn't have any other options. The downside of being a middle rather than a little was that her Mom didn't carry around a diaper bag full of extra outfits for the inevitable accident.

"That sounds great, Sash! Thank you so much for being so understanding," Lisa replied. She then turned on her charge, "Mia, do what Miss Sasha says and wear what she gives you. I do not want to hear about you having another outburst, got it?" She said sternly.

Mia swallowed her feelings. "Yes, Mom," she replied, allowing Sasha to lead her off to Tammy's nursery.

As Sasha led Mia back to Tammy's room, she spoke. "What a good girl, taking responsibility for your own mistakes! Maybe you really are a bigger girl then I've been telling your Mommy you are!"

Mia gritted her teeth, not rising to her tormentor's taunts. Lisa wanted Mia to behave for Lisa, and she was going to do her best to follow her girlfriend's instructions.

"Thank you for the compliment, Miss Sasha," Mia croaked out demurely as they reached the door to the nursery.

Mia had been in the obscenely pink room dozens of times. She hated it. Along one wall sat a giant, white, adult-sized crib. It was large enough to both hold and contain the larger Tammy. Mia knew if she was ever placed in it, there was no way she could escape.

Along the other open wall was a similarly large changing table. Ankle and wrist restraints were attached to each corner and a strapped dangled right at waist level. Mia shivered looking at it, imagining the humiliation of being strapped to it and forcefully diapered.

"You like it? Want to try it out?" Sasha jabbed as she saw the other woman's reaction to the piece of furniture.

"No, that's okay Miss Sasha," Mia responded, not wanting to give the woman any excuse to tie her to it.

Mia's eyes drifted around the room more. In a far corner, a large white rocking horse sat. Like the changing table, it had cuffs attached to where the rider's hands and feet would sit. More insidious, Mia knew from watching Tammy take a couple of interesting rides previously, the saddle of the horse also vibrated for the rider's pleasure. Mia shuddered again. Sasha just smiled knowingly.

Trying to not examine the dungeon disguised as a nursery any closer, Mia let Sasha lead her to the closet.

"Alright, what do we have here?" Sasha asked rhetorically as she started digging through her girlfriend-turned-daughter's clothes. "Oh, here we go, this is perfect! It might even be your size!"

Mia almost vomited as Sasha held the oversized toddler party dress to her body. The dress was pastel yellow with puffy sleeves. It was adorned with lace and had a short skirt made shorter by the petticoats sewn into it.

The petticoats insured that if the wearer beant over, they would flash their panties or whatever else they were wearing as underwear to anyone nearby. The dress, unfortunately, for Mia, also seemed to be made to fit her perfectly.

"Wonderful! This should fit exquisitely! And you'll look so cute in it, little one!" Sasha said as she held the infantile dress up to Mia's shoulders.

Mia did not want to put that dress on. She knew that it would make her look just like a toddler in her Sunday best. That was not the look she was trying to cultivate, especially in front of Tammy and Sasha. Carefully, so as not to seem ungrateful or like she was throwing another tantrum, Mia asked if there were any other options.

"Oh, you don't like the dress? We might have something else in here your size. The problem is that Little Tammy is so much bigger than you," Sasha said as she started digging through the closet.

It only took moments before she emerged with a other option: a pink onesie with the phrase "Mommy's Lil' Princess" written across the chest. Like the dress, it looked perfectly sized for Mia. It took all the determination that the small woman could muster to not gasp in shock at Sasha's ease at finding such a infantile garment in her size in Tammy's closet.

"Oh my goodness! This is adorable and should fit you perfectly! Is this better, baby?" Sasha asked, holding up the onesie with a dark smile.

"Um, no thank you! The dress is, uh, beautiful, and fine! Thank you!" Mia squeaked out hurriedly as Sasha descended on her.

"Ok, if you're sure! I know it's fancy and hard to play in. I know you don't want to worry about getting it wet or messy!" Sasha said, placing undue emphasis on the last three words in Mia:s opinion.

"No, the dress will be wonderful. I'll, uh, feel so pretty," Mia said, trying to convince Sasha to let her were the toddler dress rather than the onesie clearly meant for an adult infant. She couldn't believe what she was doing.

"Are you sure? It'd probably be easier to get to the potty in this onesie than in the dress, since it has just the snaps rather than all of those pretty petticoats. You don't want to have an accident, do you?" Sasha said, trying to convince Mia to wear the more infantile outfit and causing Mia to blush

"No, Miss Sasha, I'll wear the dress please. It's just so… pretty," Mia said as convincingly as she could through gritted teeth.

Sasha responded with a laugh and walked over to the smaller woman. "Well, if you really think it's pretty baby girl, who am I to stop you! Maybe I'll tell your Mommy how much you like it! I bet she could find you some more pretty little dresses like this!"

Mia blushed at the thought of Lisa filling her closet with garish baby dresses like this. It sounded like a nightmare. Mia was already too committed to her statement about the dress, and she was not going to put on that onesie.

"That would be nice, Miss Sasha," Mia said, politely.

"Wonderful!" Sasha responded condescendingly as she reached out and, without warning, began to undress Mia.

Mia immediately reached out to stop her Mom's best friend from undressing her. "Miss Sasha! I'm a big girl! I can dress myself!" Mia said indignantly.

Sasha slapped her hand away. "Does a big girl spill her juice all over herself?" She asked. "Does a big girl throw temper tantrums and blame their mistakes on other people?" Sasha continued. "Let me answer those questions for you: No!"

"We're only here because you haven't been acting like a big girl. Now, let me get you out of those sticky clothes and into this beautiful dress before you make a bigger mess than you already have!"

Once again, Mia wanted to rage. She wanted to yell. She wanted to scream. She wanted to stomp her feet. But, she knew she couldn't. Her best course of action to prove Sasha wrong and keep her dignity as a middle intact was to keep her emotions under control. So, despite her misgivings and frustrations, Mia let Sasha pull her shirt over her head, take her shoes and socks off, and slide her shorts off her legs, leaving her in nothing but her cute Disney princess cotton panties.

"Thank you, Miss Sasha." Mia chirped out politely, covering her breasts as best she could while waiting for the other woman to grab the yellow baby-dress.

"We may make a polite, big girl out of you yet Little Mia," Sasha responded.

NEXT CHAPTER

[jpmarvel90]

Biggest Mistake

Masterlist Natasha Masterlist

Relationship: Natasha x Reader

Summary: Breaking up with Y/n when she got the offer to join the Avengers, Natasha cut all ties with her ex girlfriend. What will happen when she sees her many years later?

Word Count: 5856

Y/n's POV:

Hearing my beautiful daughters laugh was my favourite thing. She was 4 years old and the apple of my eye. I would do anything for her. This morning we were getting ready for our day out to the park. I had it all planned out, we were going to go to the play park and then my best friend was going to join us for a picnic by the pond where Mia would be able to feed the ducks after.

I had grabbed a couple of Mia's toys to keep her entertained and finish packing up all of the food ready to head out. Mia was excitedly sat in the lounge clinging onto her favourite teddy. It had been given to her by her Auntie Maria the day she was born, and she was never without it.

I walked over and bent down to pick up the excited 4 year old. "Are you ready for our adventure at the park princess?" I asked as she snuggled into my side. "I want to feed the duckies!" She squealed and it made my heart melt. "Ok, come on then, let's get going." I said, grabbing the cooler backpack of food and my bag.

We made out way down to the car and I strapped Mia in. As we drove, we sang along to our favourite Disney songs and in this moment, I was at my happiest. Mia was my entire world and to see her happy and healthy was the only thing I ever wanted in life.

Once we arrive, we quickly make our way over to the kids play area. It's a warm LA morning, perfect for everything we want to do today. Mia quickly makes her way over to the park and is running around trying everything she could. I sat on the bench next to the park and watched her as she enjoyed herself, happily joining in with the other kids as well.

I always felt that I wasn't quite enough for Mia. It was tough being a single mom, especially when Mia was a miracle child. You see, I used to work for SHIELD and was really good friends with Bruce Banner. I was good at science and worked with him in his lab on a number of occasions.

When I had started at SHIELD as a new agent, Natasha Romanoff had not long been recruited. We ended up moving through the ranks together and ended up in a relationship. I adored her and I saw myself spending the rest of my life with her. We were together for 4 years and had decided to start a family together. This is where Bruce came in.

One day when I was working in the lab with him, I had told him how Nat and I were looking to have a child and discussed the process of IVF. It was at this point he offered to look into a way that we could have a child that was biologically both of ours. When I told Natasha she was incredibly happy.

It took a few months before Bruce was able to perfect the procedure. Turns out that was the easy part. As Nat was unable to have kids, it was down to me carry the baby. We went through 8 tries and none were taking. There was no medical reason why, some would just not take, others would and then I would miscarry early on in the pregnancy.

Just as I had gone through the procedure for the ninth time, Nat was offered a place with the newly formed Avengers. I was so excited for her. No matter how much good she had done in the world, she always felt that she had to make up for her past. The Avengers would give her the perfect opportunity for that. What I didn't realise is that this would result in the end of our relationship.

I came home from work one evening and Nat had packed up all of her stuff and was sat waiting by the front door. "Nat, what's all this?" I asked nervously. "I'm leaving Y/n." She said shortly. It caught me so off guard. "I'm sorry what?" I said almost in a chuckle. "I need to focus all of my energy on working with the Avengers. I can't have any distractions anymore. I've packed all my stuff up. You can stay here as long as you want." She said in such a cold manner.

This wasn't the Nat I knew. I knew how ambitious she was with work, and I would never have stood in the way of that, she knew that. My heart was breaking that the woman that I loved more than anything in this world was leaving me. "Is this some sick joke? We're trying for a kid Natasha! You can't just leave." I yelled, my anger taking over.

"We've tried so many times and it's not working Y/n. It's clearly not meant to be. I can make a difference here and I can't do that if I'm being held back." She defended. That felt like a punch to the stomach. "Ok so maybe we can't have a kid this way, but we talked about adopting if it didn't work. What's changed Nat?" I asked, tears starting to fall down my face.

She stood up and grabbed her bags making her way to the door. "I don't love you anymore Y/n." Her words cut through me like a knife. There was no emotion. 4 years and this is how it all ends. I consider going after her, but I know Nat. When she has made up her mind, there is nothing you can do to change it.

I called my best friend Maria who was over within minutes. I knew Maria from my time at SHEILD. She had worked her way up to be Fury's second and I was incredible proud of her. She spent the evening cursing off Natasha and telling me I could do better.

Knowing that I couldn't bare to be around Nat after everything that had happened, I requested a transfer to the LA branch, much to Maria's frustration. Thankfully it was granted, and I was packed and moved within a week. Before I left, I went to visit Bruce for a check up after the finally attempt. My heart broke when Bruce told me that the initial test showed that it was likely that the attempt had been unsuccessful.

Usually, he would do the test a few weeks later than this as the test is more accurate, but as I was leaving, he agreed to do it early. I thanked him for all the effort he had gone through to try and help Nat and I have a kid. He was sorry for how everything had ended, and I promised to keep in touch.

I had been in LA for 6 weeks when I started to throw up and feel run down. I hadn't noticed that I had missed my period as everything had been so stressful with the breakup and subsequent move. Everything was pointing to the fact that I was pregnant, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I called Bruce and he flew out and met me at the lab in LA where he confirmed that I was indeed pregnant with Nat's baby. Well, this was awkward.

I tried to get into contact with Nat, but she blocked all my attempts to contact her. I even asked Maria to try to talk to her, but she was quickly shut down. I knew I wouldn't get back with Nat, but she had a right to know that she had a kid. After I exhausted all opportunities of telling her, I gave up and came to terms with being a single mom.

Maria was there for me the whole way and took a temporary transfer to LA to support me. I decided to leave SHIELD as it wasn't safe to have a job like that and a kid. Thankfully Bruce was able to set me up with a friend of his who gave me a job in their lab. I loved the job, and they were very understanding of my situation.

So now, here I am with my beautiful 4-year-old daughter, waiting for my best friend to join us for lunch. Mia looked a lot like me, apart for her green eyes and gorgeous smile. Her personality, however, was very much like Natasha's. She was smart, strong, stubborn but also incredible kind and loving. She was the best of both of us.

Mia had tired herself out on the play park, so we made our way to the pond. I found a good spot under a tree which provided us some shade from the afternoon sun. Whilst I was getting the food out of the cooler, I heard Mia call out. "AUNTIE MARIA!" I looked up to see Mia run full pelt at Maria who picked her up and spun her around. "Hi there little Monkey!" She greeted, walking over to join me on the picnic blanket.

Maria knelt down and placed Mia on the blanket and then lent over to pulled me in a hug, placing a kiss on my forehead. "Hi Y/n/n. You do not know how much I've been looking forward to this weekend." She said, laying flat on her back, letting out an exaggerated huff. "Work is manic as ever then?" I asked with a chuckle, passing her a plate.

She sat up and perked up when she saw the array of food in front of her. "It's just been endless missions since the fight in Sokovia. A weekend with my two favourite girls is well needed." She said, rolling over and giving Mia a tickle.  "Well, Mia couldn't wait for you to visit. I don't think you'll be getting a restful weekend!" I joked.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating the rest of the food, feeding the ducks, and playing around in the park. We were all really tired from the running around, so the evening was spent watching movies and eating take out in our pyjamas. We were halfway through Toy Story when there was a knock at the door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Maria asked as we both peered up at the door. "No, I'm a lonely single mom, no one ever visits me." I respond.

I pull myself up from the sofa to answer the door and chuckle as Maria makes her way to her bag to grab her gun. "Seriously Maria, please don't shot my neighbours." I tease, which just earns an eye roll. Unclipping the chain and turning the lock, I'm frozen to the spot as I open the door and see the person stood in front of me. "Hi Y/n."

Nat's POV:

5 years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I broke up with the woman that I was madly in love with. But at the time, I thought it was the right decision. As soon as I was offered a place with the Avengers initiative, I knew it was a chance to help clear my ledger. It was an opportunity I couldn't say no to, and I thought that it was something I couldn't do along side being in a loving relationship with a kid.

I was heartbroken when all of our tries for a child had been unsuccessful. But I guess it was all a blessing in disguise. I lied when I told Y/n that I didn't love her anymore. But I knew it was the only way to make her not fight for me. I stupidly put work first without even entertaining the idea of being able to juggle both. It's so stupid when I see Clint do it with relative ease.

At first Y/n left me alone and I was gratefully for that. But then about 2 months after she kept trying to get a hold of me. I ignored or blocked every method she used to talk to me. I had to focus. Maria even tried to talk to me, but I quickly told her to back off, not wanting to hear it.

It wasn't until the battle of New York, that I realised the mistake that I had made. At the beginning, I was able to bury myself in work and ignore all my feelings. But when I saw the apartment block that Y/n and I shared, get flattened, I realised that I had no idea where she was or if she was even safe. It gave me this feeling of complete helplessness. I felt sick to my stomach at the thoughts of something happening to her.

After we won, I tried to find her, but she had left SHIELD and New York. I regretted that I had ever let her go. She was the most incredible person I had ever met. I just wish I had put her first all those years ago like she did me.

Wanda, Steve and I had been sent on a recon mission in LA. There was a possible Hydra agent living a normal life waiting for his moment to attack. He had a wife and kids, and we were going to find out as much info as we could. We had been here for a week and were now staking him out at the park with his family. Whilst Steve was jogging around, Wanda and I were sat at the café by the pond. We had spent a couple hours observing their movements and were getting ready to leave when Wanda grabbed my arm.

"Oh my God is that Y/n?" She said in shock. I looked over to where she was staring and sure enough, there was Y/n setting up a picnic blanket under a tree. My heart then stopped when I saw he pick up a little girl and place her on the mat. I couldn't speak, my feet were rooted to the spot.

Wanda was able to pull me in the direction a bench where we could sit and observe her. She looked amazing. It looked like she hadn't aged at all in the last 5 years. Her hair was her natural brown colour which looked really good. When we were together, she always had her hair dyed blonde. I was trying to work out the relationship that Y/n had to the child. I couldn't see the child very well, but she looked similar to Y/n.

It broke my heart to think that she has probably gotten married and had a family of her own now. I had missed my chance. "AUNTIE MARIA!" We heard the little child shout. That's when we noticed Agent Hill making her way over to the duo. Wanda and I both sat there shocked. I knew that Y/n and Maria were best friends, but why didn't Maria tell me Y/n had a family?

We watched as they ate and then started to chase each other around. By this point Steve had joined us and had the same reaction that we did. Y/n was currently "it" and was chasing the little girl around who was giggle. God that's a cute laugh. As Y/n caught her she started tickling her causing the child to yell out "STOP IT MAMA!" And there it was. It was her daughter. They looked happy. I guess that's what was important.

After Y/n had left the park, we remained on the bench. I couldn't bring myself to move so both Steve and Wanda stayed with me to comfort me. They both knew how much I wanted to try and reconcile with Y/n over the last few years. "She must have moved on pretty quickly if she's got a kid that old." Steve said with a slightly judgemental tone.

It was in the moment that it clicked. "How old would you say she is?" I asked. They both guessed around 4 and that was exactly the answer I didn't want. "Oh my God. I need to call Bruce." I said in a panic. I fumbled around in my pocket and dialled his number. It rang a couple of times before he answered.

Bruce: Hi Nat, how's the mission going?

Nat: Boring, but that's not the reason I'm calling.

I was very short on the phone. I had a feeling that he had been hiding things from me and I just wanted to know the truth.

Bruce: Ok. Straight to business. What is it you need?

I took a deep breath before asking my question.

Nat: Did Y/n carry on trying to have a baby after we broke up?

I rushed the question out and my heart was pounding whilst I waited for his response.

Bruce: No she didn't.

His answer was short and didn't help me at all until my slow mind started to catch up.

Nat: It was successful, wasn't it? The last time we tried.

I could feel tears starting to sting my eyes as Steve and Wanda sat with confused looks on their faces.

Bruce: Yes. But Nat, you shouldn't be having this conversation with me.

Nat: Then who am I meant to have it with. I've got a kid I didn't know about. How could she not tell me?!

I shouted down the phone, my anger filling me. I couldn't believe that she was pregnant, and she didn't tell me. I had a right to know that I had a kid.

Bruce: Nat, she tried to tell you but you shut down every form of communication with her. You even told Maria that you didn't want anything to do with her and that nothing would change your mind. I understand that you're angry, but you left Y/n. She's had to deal with this all on her own for the last 4 years because the person she was in love with decided she didn't love her any more.

I hadn't heard Bruce get frustrated like this before. Him and Y/n were close and he had gone out of his way to help us when we were trying to have kids. He was right. I had shut her out. I had no one to blame but myself.

Nat: Do you know where she lives?

Bruce: Nat, I don't think that's...

Nat: No Bruce, I need to try and make it right. Please just give me her address.

Bruce: Fine, but if you hurt her even more Nat, I'll make sure you don't get any opportunity to be in that kids life.

Nat: I promise you Bruce, I never want to hurt her again.

I hung up and was met by a text from Bruce with Y/n's address. I looked up and saw Wanda and Steve looking at me waiting for answers. "The little girl...she's mine." I whispered, tears now starting to fall. I heard Wanda let out a small gasp. "What are you going to do?" Steve asked, whilst Wanda placed her arm around my shoulder. "I need to go and see her. Can I take some time this evening?" I asked Steve.

He quickly nodded. "Of course, Wanda and I can write the report and if needed, do the stake out tomorrow. You focus on Y/n and your daughter." He smiled. That felt weird. My daughter. But what if Y/n doesn't want me in their life. I've not exactly done anything to deserve it.

Later that evening I pull up at the house in the suburbs. I'm incredibly nervous, what if she just slams the door in my face? Plucking the small amount of courage that I have I make my way up the pathway to the door. I ring the bell and hear muffled talking from inside. When Y/n opens the door, she looks like she's seen a ghost. "Hi Y/n." Is all I'm able to get out.

We stand in the doorway for a moment before Y/n seems to snap out of her trance. "What are you doing here Natasha?" She asked. Her voice was cold. "I-uh. Could we talk?" I asked tentatively. She sighed but nodded. Moving away from the door she gestured for me to come in. I noticed that Agent Hill was stood in the hallway, her gun clutched in her hand and her jaw clenched.

"Maria, can you take Mia upstairs please?" Y/n asked to which Hill complied with instantly. Mia, what a beautiful name. Hill made her way to the sofa and picked up the little girl, making her way upstairs. I wanted nothing more than to get a proper look at her and to hold her, but I knew I had to earn that. I turned my attention to Y/n who had made her way into the kitchen to grab a beer.

"Want one?" She asked holding one out in my direction. "Thanks." I said as I grabbed it, cracking open the top. The silence was awkward. I hadn't seen Y/n since the day since we broke up and I missed her and her touch. "I'm sorry." I mumble. Y/n looks up at me from her seat at the kitchen island. She doesn't say anything, clearly waiting for me to continue.

I took a deep breath. "I made a big mistake when I left you. I was so focused on making up for everything in my past that I gave up the one thing that I had ever loved." I started, but Y/n just laughed. "I know you have no reason to believe me but I never stopped loving you. I only said I didn't to make the breakup easier for me. I've been trying to find you since the battle of New York, but when I realised how you were gone, I accepted that I had to let you go." I said, with sorrow in my voice.

I can't get a read on Y/n. I have always been able to understand what she is feeling but in this moment, I have no idea. "So why are you here now?" She asked, taking a swig of her beer. "To be honest it was a coincidence, but I'm so happy it happened. We were on a stake out in the park when I saw you there with um, with your daughter." I briefly explained, hesitating when bringing up Mia. "Y/n I never should have left you and I certainly should never have shut you out when you tried to get into contact." I said, trying to convey how sorry I was. "If I had known why I would have come to you straight away." I carried on.

"But would you have stayed had you known? The day you left, you made it pretty clear that having a family would have been an inconvenience to you." Y/n spoke calmly. I couldn't answer her, she was right. "Her name is Mia by the way. She was born on the 9th of July, weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces. I was in labour for 18 hours. She is the best thing in my life. In fact, the best thing to ever happen in my life. You missed out on that." She said, getting up and moving into the lounge.

I got up and followed her like a lost puppy. She was right, I had missed out on so much. "When I saw you in the park earlier, you looked happy. I thought that you had found someone else and started a family. That felt like a dagger to my heart. But when I found out she was mine, I felt so incredible happy. It was short lived though when I remembered that I had missed out on the first 4 years of her life." I said through tears. "I should have been there for you during your pregnancy getting all of your cravings. I should have been there holding your hand whilst you were in labour and I should have been there to watch her grow up. I will forever hate myself for missing that."

Y/n looked up at me. "What is it that you want Nat?" She asked almost frustrated. "You." I said without a hesitation.  "I want you and to be in Mia's life. For us to be a family."  Y/n just scoffed. "You can be apart of her life if that's something you want." "And us?" I asked hopefully. "There isn't an us Natasha. You broke my heart. You can't just walk in here and expect me to turn around and jump back into a relationship with you. But I will never stop you seeing you daughter if that's what you want."

I did want Mia in my life. But I want us to be a family. I love Y/n with ever fibre of my being, and I decide that I am going to do everything in my power to fix this so we can be that family we had always planned to be. "Of course, I want to be in her life. But I'm going to fight for you too. I was stupid 5 years ago. Give me a chance and I'll show you how much I still love you." Y/n shook her head at my words.

"I don't know Nat." She started. I quickly made my way in front of her. I was on my knees holding her hands in my mine, tears falling down my face. "You are the love of my life. I should have put you first instead of my own desire for redemption. I know what I did was terrible and I can't take it back. But I'll show to you that I can be the best Mom and, eventually, partner that you deserve. Please, just let me fight for you." I plead gripping her hands tightly.

I notice that Y/n is crying but she quickly pulls her hand away to wipe the tears. She doesn't answer me but instead asks a question I've been dying for. "Do you want to meet your daughter?" The biggest smile came across my face. "Yes, please, I would love to." Y/n called out to Maria to bring Mia down. I stood up and wiped my face and then straightened out my clothes. Y/n met them at the bottom of the stairs picked Mia up.

My heart was pounding in my chest as Y/n got closer. She placed Mia on the floor and knelt down to her height. "Mia, do you remember when I told you about your other Mom?" She asked. Mia nodded and rubbed at her tired eyes. "Yes Mama. You said she was saving the world." I smiled, at the thought that Y/n had talked about me, making my heart grow. "Well, she's finally come home, and she would like to meet you now. Is that ok?" Again, Mia nodded and Y/n turned her to face me.

"Natasha, this is your daughter Mia." I walked over, trying to fight the tears threatening to fall. "Hi Sweetheart. I'm your Mommy." I said in a whisper. Mia reached out and put her cute little hand on my cheek. Finally getting a good look at her, I can see how much she looks like Y/n. She is beautiful, just like her Mama. But her eyes, it's like looking into my own. "Hi, my name is Mia and I'm 4." She said in a cute little voice.

I laugh at her introduction as does Y/n. "Well, aren't you a big girl. I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier." I said starting to cry. Mia leaned forward and wiped away my tears which only made them fall harder. "Don't cry Mommy." "Can I give you a hug?" I asked, also giving Y/n a quick glance for her approval. Mia held her arms open, and I picked her up and held her closer to me.

This was the best feeling in the world. Holding my daughter for the first time. "I love you dorogoy. I promise I'm going to be here for you for the rest of your life." I give her a squeeze and then pull away slightly so I can look at her again. I can't believe I have a daughter.

I spend the next couple of weeks in LA. I stayed at a hotel, so I didn't overwhelm Mia or overcrowd Y/n. I saw them both everyday and I loved every minute of it. Y/n was incredible, and it only made me want to fix things even more. I knew these next few months would be difficult. I couldn't just leave the Avengers as I had a contract, so I was heading back to New York.

It was my last night in LA and I was sat at Y/n's cleaning up after she had cooked us and amazing meal. I really missed her cooking. Whilst I was washing up Y/n lent up against the counter. "I've been thinking about the future." Y/n said, causing a bit of anxiety to creep in. "Ok." I reply, drying my hands on the towel giving her my full attention.

"Mia has loved seeing you every day the past couple of weeks. But not knowing when she'll see you again is difficult. I think she is worried she won't see you again." Y/n started. I went to interrupt but she held out her hand. "No, let me finish. You've already missed out on so much of her life, it's not fair that you miss out on more. So I wanted to know what you would think if we moved back to New York so you could still see Mia around your work schedule?" Y/n asked, her eyes dropping to her hands.

The biggest grin was on my face. I couldn't believe that she was willing to do that. "I would love that. It would be amazing to have you both near me all the time. But I don't want you to uproot your life for me." I said, understanding that she has created a life for herself here in. "LA has never been home for me Natasha. I ran because I couldn't bare to see you everyday with work. Then the little booger came along and my life remained here. You deserve to have her in your life as much as me. Besides, I may have already spoken to Bruce who offer me a job in his lab...."

I couldn't contain my excitement when she said that. I couldn't control my actions and I rushed to Y/n picking her up and twirling her around. As I placed her on the floor I leaned in a placed a gentle kiss on her lips. I quickly came to my senses and pulled away. "I'm so sorry. I-I shouldn't have done that." I stuttered. Y/n is just stood there slightly shellshocked. "No, you're ok. That was, uh, that was nice. Just unexpected"

We both giggle whilst still stood close to each other. "I meant what I said a few weeks ago. I want us to be a family. You have been doing this on your own when I should have been by your side. I can't change the past but I can affect the future. You both deserve it. I know it's going to take time, but I love you Y/n. I want us to have the house we always talked about and maybe a brother or sister for Mia in the future. I don't expect you to say yes now, but I hope that you can see how serious I am and that I'm all in for this to work." I run off a mini speech, wanting to express all of the feelings that I have.

I notice that Y/n eyes have gone glossy. "I wanted to hate you when you left me. But when I held Mia in my arms the first time, all I wanted was you beside me. When I failed to get in contact with you again, I closed myself off, believing that it was always going to just be me and Mia. I want to be mad and angry at you, but then I see you with Mia and it reminds me of when we used to stay up late talking about the family we wanted. You're right, I can't jump right back in, but I want us to get back to where we were. Mia deserves to live in a happy and loving home." Y/n's words warm my heart knowing that I still have a chance to have my family.

I step closer to Y/n and take her hand in mine. "We go at your pace. When you get to New York, we'll work out a routine that's best for Mia and go from there ok?" She nods and I can't help but to lean forward and capture her lips again. This time, she kisses back. My hands raise up to her neck, my thumb gently caressing her jawline whilst hers rest on my waist.

Our kiss is short lived though when we hear little footsteps running down the stairs. "Mama, Mommy, can you read me a story pwease?!" Mia shouts as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. Y/n and I quickly pull away and let out a chuckle. "Of course Princess, we'll be right there." Y/n replies, whilst we don't break eye contact. I am going to marry this woman.

Y/n and Mia moved back to New York and I shared my time between the compound and Y/n's. As well as spending time with Mia to make up for lost time, I also started to take Y/n out on dates again. I wanted to do things right and decided to start from scratch. When the Avengers found out about Mia they were all excited to become Aunties and Uncles. Wanda was particularly amazing as she would happily watch Mia whilst I worked to win Y/n back.

After 6 months Y/n and I were officially back together and I moved out of the compound to live with her and Mia. A year later I proposed, and we married in a small ceremony with our family and friends 2 months after and then we found the perfect house down by the lake outside the city but still close enough for us to work.

Now I'm sat on the porch watching Mia run around after Wanda, who was a frequent visitor. "Here you go love." Y/n said whilst handing me a beer. I quickly jumped out of my seat, "Here let me help you. You should be resting" I said as I guided Y/n to the space next to me on love seat. "You don't need to fuss Nat. I'm pregnant not crippled." She joked as she huffed taking he weight of her feet.

I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me, resting my hand on her bump. "Thank you for giving me everything I ever could have asked for." I whisper in to her hair as I place a small kiss. Y/n turned to look at me, her eyes full of love. "Thank you for coming back to us." She said in response. In this moment I was complete.

[ashthewaterghoul]

Ash, I need a bit of help. Not for me but for roommate.

She just went through a really bad day and while I’m taking care her in being a shoulder for her to lean on, she could use some literary comfort

I introduced her to Ghost (one of my highest achievements) And her favorite is Copia. If you could please offer some of your time to whip up any short fic of him in any comforting way, I would greatly appreciate it. Doesn’t have to be long, even a paragraph would be fine. I’m not a writer so I don’t got anything to write but hope you can? Maybe the ghouls and Copia doing something wholesome, anything!

Much appreciated! 🙏

Well, first off I would like to offer your roommate many many hugs or whatever her preferred form of affection is, and also I hope that whatever had made her day shit will pass <3

Anyway! Have some very rushed, not properly edited and chaotic Ghoul and Copia movie night fluffiness!

"Ah, my Ghou- oh shit..."

And why would Copia expect to walk into the den with anything less than sheer chaos unraveling before him?

Cirrus and Mountain were cooking, and Aether was meant to be also but had since been put on Dew-wrangling-duty so the Fire Ghoul would stop dipping his fingers in the bolognese. Swiss and Rain had their tongues down each other's throats and were borderline dry humping on the sofa while Cumulus waited for them so act more appropriately. Sunshine and Aurora were playing a very intense game of Mario Kart, and Phantom was participating until they saw Copia walk in.

"Papa!" They said as they ran to give Copia a hug.

"Ey, pipistrello (bat). How are you?" He said, obviously hugging them back and kissing the top of their head.

Phantom pulled away, and started fidgeting with the spade of their tail before they very nervously replied: "Sto bene, grazie. Come stai?" (I'm good, thank you. How are you?)

Copia beamed at hearing them getting more confident with their Italian, and returned: "Sto molto bene ora posso vederti." (I am very well now I can see you.)

Phantom gave a shy smile, another hug, and skipped back over to their game Aurora nudged their shoulder as they took their controller again, while Sunny smiled at them.

Copia went over to the kitchen and put down the bottles of authentic Italian wine he had brought with him.

"We're going to need one each after this." Cirrus said, stirring pots of spaghetti like the world would explode if she stopped.

"You are doing a marvelous job, mia cara aira. (my dear air)" Copia assured.

"C? Can you please help me with this gremlin?" Aether said as he yet-again stopped Dew from scooping up sauce with his tail, he tried this time.

"Of course." Copia smiled, putting an arm around Dew and leading him back to the sofas and chairs, where a grumpy Rain and Swiss were forcibly separated and kept apart by Cumulus herself.

"Ay, I'm a little cold here. Would you light the fireplace, Dewdrop?" Copia asked.

Dew flicked his wrist and set the logs ablaze, promptly trying to dash back for the kitchen but Copia was quicker.

"No, no, no. You're banned from there for a reason." Copia smiled, forcing Dew to sit on the ground, in front of the fire.

"But Papa-"

"No. I will not hear it." Copia said, slowly walking towards Dew and forcing him to shift backwards, and soon enough, Dew was sat in the fire, purring and content.

"Thank Satan for that fire-proof charm you put on all his clothes." Cumulus said, nodding in approval.

Not too long after, with Aether able to help again in the kitchen, their dinner of spaghetti bolagnese and garlic bread was served, alongside Copia's wine pairing which of course was perfect.

All sat and chat for a while with full bellies and drained their glasses, polishing off the bottles too.

They all had been working through films that Siblings had said were "iconic" and "staples for every human child growing up", and tonight was...

Disney Princess Movies

Many protests were heard, and all were voiced by Dew, but soon everyone was in blankets, with snacks and snuggled up. Pyjamas were always part of the dress code for these nights and that made it even cosier, especially with the fire burning too.

Dew was sandwiched between Aether and Swiss on one sofa, while Cumulus had Aurora in her lap next to them. Copia and Phantom had a sofa to themselves, and Mountain and Rain were in the loveseat next to them. Cirrus and Sunshine on a smaller armchair together, yet they made it work.

Through watching several of the films, they discovered that Aurora's voice made for a perfect Snow White, specifically during them Wishing Well song. Many a comparison was made between Dew and Rapunzel, and Copia was deemed Cinderella purely for the princess' mice friends.

"You took your shoe off on stage too, C." Swiss pointed out.

"Si, and I discovered that many of our fans rather enjoy my feet." Copia grimaced slightly. He wouldn't begrudge anyone, he just wasn't into it.

The discussion of how badass Sunny would be with a bow and arrow came up while watching Brave and Cirrus claimed to be Elsa with her Air magic being akin to colder, Winter winds. She also sung full renditions of the Ice Queen's songs to back her claim.

After the movies were done, all were exhausted as it was almost 5am. And while the very busy Frater would complain when the late night impacted the early meeting he had in a couple days, he'd never miss or regret spending time with his Ghouls. Forget their religion, this was sacred to him. They didn't care about species, or blood or Elements, and they were much more than pack. This random group, pulled together by some perfect string of fate or coincidence, was a family.

And Copia adores his family.

[science-lings]

more info for each option below

1- I just think it's funny if everyone knew who Sherlock Holmes was (Phoenix's 'Sherlock Holmes 2 baby!' moment) and it's a popular belief that he wasn't real but he was, just under a better name.

2- I can't help but look at these guys and point at them. Kazuma's concept art where he has his hair back is so Phoenix-coded and one of his thinking sprites looks a lot like Phoenix's and I think that in the afterlife whenever Phoenix is kind of a bitch Ryunosuke looks over at Kazuma and blames him for it. I don't know which one is trans and neither do historians, it's knowledge that has been lost to time. Though it would be funny if Ryu just popped out of nowhere to go to university where no one knew him so no one would know anything about him. Did he forge government documents to do it? who knows he's just living his best life memorizing tongue twisters.

3- It would either be something badass like a snake winding around her arm or something symbolic like a fleur-de-lys which is the flower-based symbol in TGAA for European prosecutors. I also think it's funny bc it's apparently based on an Iris (or a lily), and the iris has the connotation that it 'prevents fire' which would be funny subtle anti-phoenix symbolism.

4- as much as the fan renditions of scruffy beanix absolutely fuck, this guy has the most pathetic facial hair I've ever seen, he's trying so hard to look like a homeless rundown stoner but can only manage a sprinkling of stubble. In addition, Miles can grow facial hair and he tried to grow a mustache for a week in Europe but it was a sensory nightmare and he will never do it again.

5- idk there's a reason his little mascot is a mouse, I just think it's funny if he just appears next to people and they have no idea how he got there. quiet little guy (unless he's thinking loud enough for it to leak out of his mouth). If he was a little more chaotic he would make an excellent thief/ pickpocket. The closest he gets is making snacks disappear from the 221b pantry.

6- All the animals as evidence and his first defendant in seven years being an Orca, he has that disney princess vibe. He was buds with Polly the parrot during the trial and even Money the monkey warmed up to him, especially in the anime where he just chills on Phoenix's shoulders during the court demonstration. I also think eventually Taka would also warm up to him due to his immaculate bird vibes. Trucy's doves and rabbits love him, he does not know how this happened. He regularly has pigeons following him around during investigations. He accidentally makes friends with a crow when throwing out popcorn kernels, it regularly gives him things now and more than once it has retrieved evidence for a case he's working on. He names it Kay and refers to Human Kay accordingly.

7- A little detail I noticed was that a lot of the information Mia got on Redd White was from conversing through the spiritual veil which seems to be her strong suit even as a spirit herself. She can talk to Phoenix without having to use a medium. I think it would be interesting to delve into all the nuances of the Fey's spiritual abilities outside of channeling. There's definitely a whole lot more to it than we're provided. How does that magatama work? how does Pearl charge it with 'spiritual power' and why is she the only one that can do it? I'm a hoe for magical worldbuilding so I would love to get my grubby fingers all over the Fey's.

8- Just two haters who can't have the job that they worked so hard for and are bitter about it. I like to think that Ema visited America at least once a year to visit Lana in prison and she stayed with Phoenix to save money on hotels. It just means something to me that it's her pin that's on his beanie and she gets included in the Wright family (+ Apollo) new years official art, and he keeps the investigative tools she gave him for nearly a decade. They aren't the best influence on each other but they understand each other more than nearly anyone else. They send each other pictures of Edgeworth whenever one of them is hanging out with him so the other doesn't feel left out. Also, they both think it's funny to catch him in the middle of talking or making a weird facial expression.

9- Some guy can't just change how trials are done for everyone without a lot of political bs, Phoenix is famous in law circles and even outside of law circles but he needs to convince a lot of important people (and expose a lot of corrupt important people) before it can go through. At some point, Edgeworth is going to pick him up and they're going on a private plane to talk to the president. It's important to me that he has trouble grasping how important he has become and is surprised every time he's invited to speak at some fancy event even though he's literally important enough to have statues made of him. He is the most iconic defense attorney, he solved the deaths of the two most notable defense attorneys before him in some of his first trials. He is going to be in history books and that is unimaginable to him.

10- Obviously since his canon ancestor is Japanese he's at least part Japanese but I mean like, in my mind, he's fully Japanese American who can speak the language and was raised by immigrants, but I also think that so many other hcs are fun. Is he latino with his black daughter? love that, inject some melanin in these attorneys please. I see the ensemble artwork and am blinded instantly.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Rules: post 10 of your favourite comfort movies then tag 10 people.

I got tagged most recently by @every-aj-needs-an-angel (but I also think I got tagged a while back by a few people and I fell way behind on tags)

1. Pride and Prejudice (2005) - I mean we all know why. If you don’t:

2. Captain America: Civil War - I won’t be able to apologize for this. It’s just the most romantic bullshit a person can see. A man going against his country, the world, his friends, for his long lost love? Sigh.

3. Miracle - It’s hockey. I dunno what else I have to say.

4. The Breakfast Club - If you haven’t watched it, how.

5. Beauty and the Beast - This has been my favorite original Disney princess movie since I was maybe four and I learned to read? I thought Belle was amazing and I genuinely told my mom at six years old that I hoped my husband had a big library. What a dreamer.

6. The Princess Diaries - My sister and I watch this almost once a month. I blame naming Eddie’s daughter after Mia Thermopolis because I had just watched it again.

7. Matilda - This one is depressing when you think about it, but my family used to call me Matilda because I would prefer to just sit in my room and read. And then Harry Styles wrote the song and I was like…hmmm that’s something to unpack…and then I just started watching the movie when I was sad.

8. 10 Things I Hate About You - I mean.

9. Hook - I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this movie, but it’s gotta be in the triple digits.

10. Jumanji (1995) - I don’t have anything against the new one, but the original is just unparalleled. You just can’t compete with Robin Williams.

Now, keep in mind that I RARELY watch anything at all, so when I’m watching these, something is very wrong 😂

No pressure tags: @simplebtromance @zerokrox-blog @izzy2210 @estrellami-1 (I think you may have tagged me in this a while ago too so ignore this if you did 😭) @legitcookie @sidekick-hero @steves-strapcollection @wormdebut (or work on your gd fic ffs) @wynnyfryd @messessentialist

[fantasyiswaybetterthanreality]

My Experience with Lego Friends

So way back in 2011, when I was but a wee 8ish year old, my mother and I were walking through the Walmart toy aisle. We moved through the girls section and saw this:

And my mom screamed. No Joke. An employee came over to ask what was wrong and she yelled. "There's Lego's for girls!!!"

That was my first introduction to the franchise/Lego theme. Now I was just as excited as her. Before Friends, I only had one Lego set that Mom had to search extensively for because there weren't really any proper sets for little girls.

So she bought me Lego Friends.

And more Friends.

As a budding Lego lover, I built them. I watched the corresponding TV shows on Netflix. I talked about them with my friends. I received a bunch of sets on my Birthday and Christmas.

A few years later, Lego started to release Disney Princess sets and Lego Elves. While I never got into Elves while they were released (something I regret now that I'm older), I watched the mini movie and series that were released on Netflix.

And then in 2018, Lego rebranded Friends for the first time.

Originally in 2012, Lego Friends advertised a young group of highschool girls and their subsequent adventures in their hometown of HeartLake City. This is what the lineup looked like:

(From Left to right: Emma, Stephanie, Olivia, Andrea, & Mia

Four white girls and one African American, and an extremely light skinned one.

And the "new" line-up in 2018:

(From Left to Right: Andrea, Mia, Emma, Stephanie, & Olivia)

One Asian, one one Hispanic, one African American (dark-skinned not light), and two whites.

Now my 12 year old brain was mad about the changes, especially since American Girl (another toy brand I loved) had rebranded one of there lines and honestly, butchered the best parts about the line.

But after someone told me it was wonderful that they were being more inclusive, and after I looked at some of the sets, I came around.

So I continued to collect the sets. I watched the corresponding show on Netflix.

Then January 2023 rolls up, I innocently stroll down the toy aisle at target and see

"What the hell is this? What's wrong with the logo?" (<- Actual thought from my brain)

After a quick scope around the Friends section, I figure out it's another rebrand. Now, I'm on the fence, holding out judgement.

A few months pass, I see a few new Lego models. A boy in a wheelchair, a girl with half an arm, a girl with Vitiligo. I'm starting to feel hopeful about the rebrand.

However, the core 5 girl squad don't seem to appear as much. So finally, I turn to google like a normal person. And find out that they got rid of the core 5 girl squad and that there's a "New Generation of Friends".

...

Yeah, that ticked me off. The girl squad was my favorite part of the Friends brand.

So after finding this out, I go on a mini-boycott, because apparently, I am still a petulant child when it comes to Legos.

And then around September, I tread into the Lego section of a store for the first time in a while.

And spot a set that has the cutest animal in it. The familiar longing itch to buy a new set returns. My mom approaches me, and we start talking about the rebranded sets. She points out a couple sets with cool architecture.

And I let myself enjoy window shopping for Legos again.

Fast forward to Christmas, I get a set titled HeartLake City Community Center. I haven't built it yet, but I'm looking at the box \/,

Wait a minute, who's that in the corner? Is that who I think it is?

IT IS!!!!!! IT'S STEPHANIE!!!!! AND SHE'S THE MAYOR. HAJKSHJKDHKJLSAS

So I make a red string/conspiracy board theory, that this 2nd rebrand of Legos is *literally* the next generation of Friends. Like, the core 5 grew up and these are all the new kids that live in the city.

I bring this up to my parents, and Mom's thinks it's an awesome theory since it's been a decade. The girls should be allowed to grow up and have adult lives.

I don't think much more about it until I'm browsing the Lego store this afternoon for Lego Monkie Kid Sets, and come across a new set titled Andrea's Modern Mansion. Of course I click on it.

(All following pictures are screenshots from the Lego website)

Front ^ and back \/

Wait, what's that in the middle?

Are those pictures?

THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!

Stephanie and Mia graduating! Family portrait! Andrea with her baby! Olivia and Emma!

That's it. The rebrand has won me over. I love seeing all this later in life core 5.

Stephanie's the Mayor, like her idol from the original show. Andrea's a singer, has won some awards, is married, and has a child.

I can't wait to see what they do with the other girls.

Also, look at the reunion!

They're doing karaoke! I can't take it.

[novemberwasgrey]

Enjax headcanons

(Featuring Wenvier because they're all my fav)

Lots of pet names. Mainly "babe".

Lots of PDA. At the beginning, Enid was the one who initiated the most and she thought she might come off as clingy so she stopped for a second. But then Ajax was like "did I do something? What about my cuddles?". Since then, he knows he can indulge in the PDA as well.

It's actually a whole new process for him because she's his first girlfriend and he's naturally guarded and used to be alone. At the beginning, he was afraid to be overwhelmed by the relationship. But on the contrary, and because Enid also gives him personal space when he needs to, their couple is natural and easy.

Enid's mom obviously doesn't like them together. It's not against Ajax because he didn't particularly give a bad impression when they met, but she just wants Enid to be with a werewolf. Her dad thinks he's a nice guy though.

On the other hand, Ajax's moms LOVE Enid. They're just so glad that there's someone to make their son happy and that he doesn't stay in the solitude gorgons tend to get used to.

Enid lives for Starbucks. Ajax, as the dutiful boyfriend he is, always gets her coffee. Pink Drink is her fav ofc.

Ajax could eat pizza every day at any hour of the day. For his birthday, Enid made a pizza cake for him and it was the best day of his life.

He's the one who takes pictures for her Insta.

Ajax often goes back to Greece for the holidays to see his family there. They have a beach house and he invited Enid over the summer before their senior year. They spent the most amazing week together, his family loved her and Enid was just so happy to work on her tan. Tons of Instagram pics ofc. It's also where and when they had sex for the first time.

Cliché but Ajax is a big Mamma Mia's fan. He knows all the songs. For his bachelor party, Xavier got Ajax's moms and his aunt to perform Super Trouper just like in the movie and he laughed for hours.

Enid's happy place is Disney World. Ajax surprised her by taking them (him, Enid, Wednesday and Xavier) there during their senior year. She was overexcited and smiled during the whole thip and Ajax was just glad to make his Disney princess happy. Enid and Ajax had the best time. Xavier was just glad for the Star Wars universe. Wednesday was miserable throughout the whole trip. (There's this hilarious picture of Wednesday with her usual resting bitch face and Minnie Mouse ears Enid forced her to wear. Everyone always cracks up when they see this pic.)

Enid totally convinced him to dress up as Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder for Halloween.

In terms of jealousy, Enid will not hesitate to get her claws out when some girl tries to make a move on her man. For the longest time, Ajax thought that he wasn't the jealous type but that was until his older brother started to hit on Enid every time he saw her (I headcanon that he has a brother named Hector, I read it in a fanfic and I thought the Greek mythology reference was hilarious). It's meant to be as a joke but since he has some younger sibling complex with his brother who likes to rile him up, he's always so angry about it. Although Enid found his jealousy cute, she knows how complicated his relationship with his brother is and ended up making fun of Hector, saying he didn't stand a chance and that Ajax was way better anyway. Ajax always smiles smugly when he remembers Hector's gaping face.

Might break up for a while after they graduate because of differences: pressure on Enid from her family because she should have a werewolf mate, different goals and projects etc. Would definitely find their way back to each other a few years later thanks to Wednesday and Xavier making them realize they cannot live without the other.

Will get married and have at least 4 kids because Enid has always wanted a big pack.

They're the godparents of Ravenna, Wednesday and Xavier's only daughter.

[darkness-falls-tarot]

The Princess Diaries 3: What to expect as of now with the film.

Remember all readings are alleged and for entertainment purposes only; please take each one with a grain of salt.

What will production be like: 10 of wands reversed - This will be a very intense production for the film; they have a lot of expectations from fans and from the studio as well and it’s going to stress them out trying to please them all.

Will we see Julie Andrews: death reversed - I believe Julie is hesitant because she may believe it’s been too long since they did the previous films and she’s not sure the world will want to see it after this long.

Will we see Hector Elizondo: the fool reversed - yes I believe we will see Joe make a return. He probably won’t be the same type of character he was in the first two but he will still have that loving nature and protective instincts for Mia and her family.

Will we see Robert Schwartzman: 5 of cups reversed - as of right now it’s not happening. They may feel like the fans have forgotten about Michael and it wouldn’t be something to bring back in the story after having to write him out for the sequel; we’ll have to see if this changes.

Will Chris Pine Return: the world - yes he will return as the Nicholas character; he’s going to again sweep the fans off their feet and make everyone want to have a Prince fall for them and rule their own country.

What can we expect from this filming: strength reversed, the hermit, 9 of pentacles reversed, judgment - there will be some rather unfavorable articles about the film itself before it comes out and how hellish things will be. To me this will be the fault of Disney who has a tendency to try and rule this production with their iron fist. This may cause some delays and may even be rumors floating that the film may be canceled entirely because Disney is trying to do it their way and not as it should be. The one who is going to keep all this from ending is Anne; she will call the shots and have her say in the end and most of the cast and crew will side with her. This may result in the film being done under another production company or she may have to buy out the rights to get this done as it should be.

When will filming begin: next spring. In the meantime the cast will slowly be announced and rumors for the plot.

Oracle card for the film: hidden key - they should be mindful of the film as a gift to the fans and not to appease to the executives at Disney, this film could be very great overall as long as they keep that in the back of their minds.

[clockspur]

Ok so this is not an ask but more an idea I had for some time now.

So remember one draw you did about twisted wonderland when NRC is full of a lot of different tsum tsums and yuu has to catch them all with the help of some tsum tsum in ramshackle and grim.

Ok so keeping that idea in mind but whit yuu does is singing dancing queen with grim and the tsum because apparently the tsum like the song and the thing will go like the part of the movie "mamma mia" where all the woman in the island start singing the song while following the main charachter who was singing it something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUHz6iRKEMM(The thing that I mean in this post starts in the video in the time 0:50)

Meanwhile, the twst boys and teachers are watching in confusion about how yuu did that.

I think I get the idea here, and I must say, it’s not a bad one- not bad at all.

Because ANY opportunity to let Yuu do some Disney Princess-ing is a tasty treat that can’t be beat🍩

However,

While I like ‘Dancing Queen’… I think we can do better😈

This is a school of villains, after all.

Luckily, there’s a song that I’ve been wanting to use to make a Twisted Wonderland animatic for some time. I think it would be perfect for this.

What’s the song? You’ll see soon enough. Just get ready to snuff out the light🌝

[the-rewatch-rewind]

My final guest episode, with not one but two very special guests!

Transcript below the break

Jane

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be discussing number 7 on my list: Disney’s 2001 comedy The Princess Diaries, directed by Garry Marshall, written by Gina Wendkos based on a book by Meg Cabot, and starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.

Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) is a shy and unpopular 15-year-old just trying to survive high school, when the grandmother she’s never met, Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews), shows up and reveals that she is the queen of a small European country called Genovia. Since Mia’s father, whom she also never met, has recently died and had no other children, Mia is now first in line for the throne. While she’s still deciding whether to accept this job, Mia receives princess lessons and a makeover, and has to deal with how these changes affect her relationships, especially with her best friend Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) and Lilly’s brother Michael (Robert Schwartzman).

This movie is so fun and iconic that I felt like I needed two special guests to talk about it with me, so in a few moments I will be joined by my sister Rosemary, whom you may remember from the Newsies episode, and my friend Sophie, whom you may remember from the Enchanted episode. But first, the breakdown of when I watched this movie after I started keeping track: three times in 2003, three times in 2004, five times in 2005, twice in 2006, twice in 2007, twice in 2008, once in 2009, once in 2010, once in 2012, twice in 2013, once in 2015, once in each year from 2017 through 2020, twice in 2021, and once in 2022. Yes, I watched this movie 30 times in 20 years, and I would do it again. So let’s talk about it!

Hello, Sophie and Rosemary.

Sophie

Hi!

Rosemary

Hello.

Jane

Welcome back to both of you. 

Sophie 

Thank you. Happy to be back. 

Rosemary 

Thanks for having me back. 

Jane 

I'm so glad to have you both here, even though you've never met each other before, but I know that you both love this movie, as do I. So I'm very excited to talk about Princess Diaries. I think we can start with how we got introduced to this movie, if we remember. I know that Rosemary saw it in theaters and I did not. 

Sophie 

That's too bad. Rosemary, you want to go first? 

Rosemary 

Sure! Um, I don't remember exactly all of the circumstances. I do remember going to see it in theaters with my mom and it was really good. We really enjoyed it. And we're like, Jane will love this, and really liked the line, “Goodbye trolley people!” That really tickled us. And then I do remember around the same time, the local like, bookstore and newspaper, I think, put on this contest where someone could, like, write an essay about why they should be like princess for the day or something. And one of my best friends at the time was like the winner of it.

Sophie

Wow.

Rosemary

So that was when I like, realized that, oh, these are actually books too, and then got really into the books around the same time as well. 

Sophie 

That's so cool. 

Rosemary 

So those are my like, early memories of Princess Diaries. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I actually can't remember if I got into the books or the movie first. Probably the movie, but I would say my trajectory was really similar. Like if I saw the movie first, then I read the books immediately after. And I probably saw like a trailer for the movie on Disney Channel or whatever because I… I do distinctly remember, like they did this thing where like they would if if the movie or show or whatever had a song, they would do, like a music video of whatever the big song was in the movie, and show that as like a commercial for whatever it was. And then in this case, because they're, I mean, there was Miracles Happen and they probably did a music video of that. But they also did, they would show like a scene from whatever it was like, sneak peek into our latest whatever. And so they did the the tea scene at the consulate where the “Gosh, Gee whiz, golly-wolly” exchange happens. And so of course, like me and all my other little 6-year-old friends were saying “shut up” to each other and thought that was the peak of hilarity, which I'm sure our parents were thrilled with. So that was, that was definitely a big, a big scene for us. 

Rosemary 

And then I also remember like, early on, like shortly after it came out on VHS or whatever, for Jane's birthday, her like birthday party was like… I remember our family, but I don't know who else was there, and we all just, like, gathered in the living room on the pull out couch with the like, little like 12 inch VHS player. And we all like gathered around it and watched Princess Diaries. 

Sophie 

That's so fun. 

Rosemary 

And that was like your 12th birthday party or something. 

Jane 

Yeah. Yeah. No, I I was trying to- cause I definitely remember you and mom going to see it and and coming back and being like, “There was this really funny ‘goodbye trolley people’ scene!” And I was like, what does that even mean? [laughs] But I don't remember like I assumed that I'd seen it before that birthday party, because otherwise why would I have asked to watch it for my birthday?

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

I didn't see it in theaters, but maybe we had rented it or something before that. But I definitely remember that because I we watched it for my birthday party and then since we had rented it, we had it for a few more days and I watched it like multiple times all of the days that we had it because it was also like my birthday was during spring break. And that was only like a couple of months after our aunt died. So it was like a weird time and I was like, kind of sad during that time. But like that week, I just remember like, watching this movie over and over and just being like, “I love this so much! This is the thing that makes me happy!” But I wasn't keeping track of movies yet because that was 2002 and so I'm like, OK, well, if I if I'd started a year earlier, then this movie would have so many more watches.

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

Because as it is, I've watched it 30 times in in the 20 years that I counted. But I don't remember how many times I had watched it before, but I definitely was just, like, so in love with it. I'm not exactly sure what it was about this movie that I was so excited about when I first started watching it. 

Rosemary 

Well, it's very… it's a very comforting movie.

Sophie

Mm-hmm.

Jane

Yeah.

Rosemary

Like, it feels very like warm and like a hug.

Sophie 

Yeah. I do… like, I always worry with the movies that I feel that way about. Like, is it nostalgia or is it really a good movie? I think this one airs on the side of it's really a just a good movie. 

Jane 

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I I would agree. I just I every time I watch it, I'm just like, this is just so nice.

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

It's, it there's, I mean there's conflict and there's like a few uncomfortable moments. But overall it's just like a nice story. 

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary 

And it has a good it's a good tone between silly, goofy and also like very sweet and sincere, and like it never feels like overreaching in the, like emotional moments that it hits.

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

Like it all feels very like genuine and earned and like realistic. 

Sophie 

Yeah, for like for finding out that you're a Princess when you're 15. It's a really realistic movie. 

Rosemary 

Well, yes. Is it based on a true story?

Sophie 

But no but I get what you're saying. Like the premise is absurd and at the same time it's very grounded in reality. And I I appreciate that, like, the characters seem to be genuine, like good hearted people. I love that people apologize when they do the wrong thing. Like, and Jane and I were talking before we started recording about the some of the changes between the book and the movie. And I think making Clarisse a nice person is one of the things that this movie does really well. Because book Clarisse would never have apologized to Mia for making her feel bad or, like, not listening to her. And then you get Julie Andrews, who's like, “I'm really sorry that I judged before I, you know, heard your side of the story.” 

Jane 

One of my favorite stories about this movie coming to be is that when they were talking to Meg Cabot about how they were going to adapt it, somebody was telling her, like, “We're thinking about, like, killing off the dad and expanding the grandmother’s role.” Because because the dad is alive in the books. And like, “We have someone, like a really big star in mind to play the grandmother and we think like, we should expand her role and get rid of the dad.” And Meg Cabot was like, “Well, who… who you were thinking?” and they said “Julie Andrews,” and she immediately went, “Kill the dad.”

[all laugh]

Rosemary

Yeah.

Jane

And Julie Andrews… this was an interesting point in her career because she had recently undergone surgery that caused her to lose a lot of her singing voice. Like that was in the mid 90s. And so she was kind of. In retirement to a certain degree, like she wasn't really sure what the rest of her career might look like. And this was also her first Disney movie since Mary Poppins.

Sophie

Wow.

Jane

And it's just so cool to see her sort of mentoring Anne Hathaway, who is making her feature film debut in a big Disney movie, which is exactly what Julie Andrews had done with Mary Poppins. And first of all, just… hard to believe that this is Anne Hathaway's first movie because she's so… she carries the movie so well, like I do think that's a big part of why you get that grounded feel is like she brings such a like realistic sense to the role of Mia. And I just think she was perfectly cast. And I also just think it's so fun that she's kind of following in the footsteps of Julie Andrews. I mean, obviously her career has looked very different overall, but it's kind of fun that they both have the same introduction to movies. 

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary 

That is really interesting that Julie Andrews didn't do more Disney movies after Mary Poppins. 

Jane 

Yeah, right? Cause you think, she's such a Disney icon. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, you would think that like they would be really fighting for her to have roles and stuff. 

Sophie 

Keep her in. Keep her in the family, in the fold. 

Jane 

Yeah, that was that was something that I hadn't, I wasn't really aware of until relatively recently. I was looking at more facts about this movie, and I was like, wait really? It's just very interesting. I'm not really sure how that conversation went, of like convincing her to do this movie if she was, like, really excited about it, or if she needed some persuasion. But I'm really glad she did because like, I'm sure I had seen Mary Poppins and Sound of Music multiple times before Princess Diaries came out. But, like, that's really what made me become a Julie Andrews fan is seeing her just totally kill it in this role. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I think Mary Poppins probably was my first, but this is the first that I like, really remember of her. 

Jane 

Yeah. So the two of them, I mean, everybody in this movie is great, but I love the dynamic between the two of them and like the whole scene when they're like at the arcade together is really nice, and and just like seeing their characters relationship transformed throughout the movie is great. And I… just thinking about like, yes, this is a romantic story and like there's some focus on her and Michael, but there's so many other relationships that are really important and really focused on in this movie and like, Mia and her grandmother, Mia and her mother, Mia and Lilly. Like there's friendships and family relationships, and it's like, and there's a romance, too. But it's kind of like, that's not really what the majority of the movie is focused on, which I think has always resonated with me. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I would definitely agree that although the Josh versus Michael conflict is a really big one, it is a romantic conflict and yet it's not like… it's not romantic. It's just, like, kind of an allegory for Mia trying to, in much the same way that to be a Princess or not to be a Princess is like her growing up and developing. Like maybe the things that I thought I wanted aren't the things that are going to make me the happiest. And I do sort of like in the book that she's always had this kind of pining crush for Michael, I think that's very sweet, but it's nice that Josh serves as like a, this, you know, this is what I've thought I've been working towards this whole time and then it turns out it actually is really horrible and I don't like it. And I would rather do something else. I think it serves the same sort of purpose that she's like, growing up and becoming more like sure of herself and confident. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, I think things that I've always liked about the movie, like the romantic teen sort of aspects of it, is that it feels more realistic to what people actually go through in their high school years than a lot of teen movies. Where they're like, “Oh, this is my true love. I'm going to marry them. I'm gonna…” you know, whereas like Mia has this crush on this guy and like, she gets all giggly and flustered when she's around him and she's not smooth and neither really is he. But, you know… 

Jane 

He thinks he is, though. 

Rosemary 

He thinks he is and and I feel like that's very like, sweetly portrayed. And like a very innocent like teen romance feel. But I think a lot of teen movies, they rush into being way too adult and like heavy feeling, but I've always, I've always really liked that Mia doesn't… she doesn't... Josh doesn't notice her because really, any other reason other than because she's a Princess. She doesn't have smooth pick-up lines. She's not like, cool and confident. There's not really any focus on, “Oh she's like, really sexy. So he’s, of course he notices her.” It's really just because he wants to be… have some fame. And then like this guy that's like her best friend's brother, like, I feel like that's stuff that happens to people, you know? It's like you're around these people for your whole growing up years and you're like, “Well, I have feelings. I don't know what these are. But maybe I'm in love with you. But maybe I just…” you know, trying to figure things out. And like she wants to get her first kiss. And it just feels so sweet and innocent in a way that I think a lot of teen movies really miss that point and are really like thrown into like much bigger, like, “I'm desperately in love with you” or “I want to sleep with you” or things like that. And this movie really like, keeps it, like at least more of what my experience as a teenager was where it was like, “Oh, I have a crush on this person. I'm awkward, and then we move on or we hope they notice us. But then when they do, I don't know what to do and…” So that aspect of, it does have that romantic story, but it definitely feels like, yes, these are teenagers who are, like, feeling things for the first time. And what does that mean, and what does that look like? 

Sophie 

Right. It's very sweet and innocent. She's like, very concerned with if her foot's gonna pop or not. Like she's not…. there's no like, you were saying, it's not like desperate. She's not like, this is, you know, “My my parents say I can't be with this person. And so therefore I have to have them, and we have to run off and get married and then he's going to turn me into a vampire” or whatever. And she wants to be kissed and she wants to have this little like old movie moment. And then she does get that and it's… But it's… with Michael it also is a little bit of maturity. Like, “I don't like him because he's, you know, cute or popular or he has a boat or whatever” it's, you know, “You… you noticed me. You saw the real me and you like me anyway.” 

Rosemary 

“You saw me when I was invisible.”

Sophie 

Tears. And then all the lights turn on and the fountains come on and we’re in the garden with the roses and yeah, so. 

Jane 

Yeah, that's it's interesting because so much of the movie feels so like relatively realistic given the premise. And then that moment, it does kind of seem a little bit fairy tale-ish. But it's also explained because multiple times throughout the movie, The Queen is talking about how she needs the gardens to be fancier. 

Sophie 

“Make me an Eden.” 

Jane 

Yeah, exactly. So they're like working on the gardens the whole time. And so like that kind of that pays off in that moment, too. And it's like, it's not just this came out of nowhere. It's like, this is what the garden needed to be beautiful for! 

Rosemary 

And I love that we keep going back to, “Yeah, this movie is realistic. The story is realistic” because, OK, first of all, she finds out she's a Princess for the first time when she's 15. And Josh, who's, like a 15/16 year old, has a boating license? And his own boat?

Sophie

[laughing] Yeah.

Rosemary

But otherwise it's it's realistic. 

Sophie 

They go to this high school that can rent out an entire private beach with a DJ and catering. What even is this party? They’re… Josh is on his boat. The the girls are doing their like studio sound system concert. There's like random food with whole watermelons, for some reason. They do like a close up shot on this kids plate, and he's got half a watermelon filled with grapes like, what are you doing? Who provided this? Who is this for? 

Jane 

And in a deleted scene they did a banana dance.

Sophie

Right. Yeah.

Jane

But I mean, I guess part of it is explained like, that it is a really fancy rich school because, like, it seems like her royal family members were paying for it, which she seemed to be somewhat unaware of. 

Sophie 

In lieu of having a relationship, I'll just like send my child to private school and buy a Faberge carousel for her bedroom. 

Jane 

Yeah, because of course. 

Sophie 

I did really want that though as a child. The little music box thing. And the diary that opens with the locket. That was the coolest. 

Jane 

That is really cool. I also think it's funny though, because like the books like the whole conceit of the books is that they are her Diaries, like she's writing them, and in the movie she doesn't even get the diary until the end. 

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary 

Well, you know, but OK, so books that are turned into movies. Generally, I'm like, the book is better. Why do we even have the movie? The movie tried, but it didn't do anything. And I feel very differently about this. I…love Princess Diaries as a movie and I love the book series and they are two very different things. 

Sophie 

Completely separate entities. 

Rosemary 

Yeah. And also all I want in the world is like a miniseries that takes place in the early 2000s in New York, where the books take place and shows these teenagers in the early 2000s, actually doing what the books are and like, have it be really good. And I would pay a lot of money to see that. So whatever major streaming service is listening to this, I would love that and to have actually have the main grandma and the dad who's alive and justice for Tina Hakim Baba. 

Sophie

God bless!

Rosemary 

Because we love her and she needs her moment. 

Sophie 

She sure does. 

Rosemary 

So I would love that. 

Sophie 

Yeah. Well, I I volunteer to to write it. I I I will be in the writers’ room once the strike is over, but with the caveat that it can't be gritty. Like they can't, it can't be dark. There can't be, like, you know, we're all really depressed and sneaking around and like, it has to be as like sweet, but a little more aged up than what the movie was. 

Rosemary

Yes.

Jane 

Yeah, cause I do definitely feel like the movie is for a younger audience than the books. 

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Sophie 

Yeah, which is weird because I'm sure that I started reading them when I was like 7 years old and she's talking about, like, getting her period at the Moscovitz's house and like wanting to make out with someone at Lilly's bat mitzvah. And I was like, what is what is this? 

Rosemary 

And then there's that, like, weird stalker man that like is stalking Lilly and wants to see her feet, and…

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

But like, I loved that series so much. Reading those books like, really got me into, like, YA realistic fiction? Realistic. We're going with that again.

[Jane and Sophie laugh]

Rosemary

But like I was obsessed with, like, YA books all through, like middle and high school. And I think it really did start with Princess Diaries. And I was always, like, so excited when a new one came out and would like just devour it. Like even like last year when the…or earlier this year? I don't know. When Quarantine Princess came out, I was like, We have a new one. We still need more of this story. 

Jane 

How many books are there now? I mean, I guess there's some that aren't, like technically part of that series and…

Rosemary 

Yeah. So there's ten that encapsulate her, like high school years, and then there's like a few extra ones that go in there that are like little short ones. And then there's the one I think it's like her wedding, maybe? Yes, that one came out, I think maybe in, like, 2015-ish. And then there's Quarantine Princess, which came out like in blog format in 2020 and then got like compiled and more things added to it and came out like within the last year. So Mia is still around. She survived COVID. 

Jane 

And there's the spin off ones about her half-sister, right? 

Rosemary 

Yes. Yeah. So then… I think around the same time that that the one that came out in 2015 that I can't remember the name at this moment, Meg Cabot also made like a middle grade series that there's a younger half-sister that came into the picture. And so she has her diaries as well. So there's like, supplemental content there. And I I read the first one. And it was very sweet and good, but I don't think I read any of the other ones. 

Sophie 

I just found out about that. So that's all new to me, but I did... I did love the little like Princess Diaries and a half, much like The Lion King 1 1/2 I think is the best Lion King. I think some of the Princess Diaries and 1/2 are my favorites. I think the only one that I actually had was the one where she and Michael do Habitat for Humanity together. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, I was gonna say, I was like, isn't there one where they, like, build houses together or something?

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

Yes. And then there's like a Christmas one too, I think. 

Sophie 

OK. And then that's probably why I didn't have that one.

Jane 

Being Jewish. 

Sophie 

Yeah because they needed like Lilly’s Hanukkah or whatever. And then I also had, I don't know if you know about these, there's one like companion book written I think by Clarisse. And then there's one written by Paolo and they're like… It's essentially The Care and Keeping of You, but the care and keeping of a princess?

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Sophie

And so Clarisse's one is like etiquette. All these etiquette rules for like dining at a fancy party. And then Paolo’s is like, how to, you know, do hair and makeup and stuff. And I love those. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, I remember reading those too. Is that when they talk about the cousin Sebastiano that like, doesn't finish his words and then he's like, “Please pass the butt.”

Sophie

[laughing] Probably. 

Jane 

I remember that character. 

Sophie 

Don't be like him and say “Pass the butt” at dinner, especially when meeting with heads of state. 

Rosemary 

So there's a lot of Princess Diaries content is what… what we can sum up this conversation with.

Jane

Definitely.

Rosemary

And all of it is good.

Sophie

Yeah. 

Jane 

I feel like, I mean, I know you were, like, way more into the books than I was.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm.

Jane

But I I feel like we read some of them together.

Rosemary

I’m sure we did.

Jane

Like you'd already read them. But like, we used to read stuff out loud to each other a lot. So I think that that was one of the things, at least… cause I remember really liking the third book, and now I'm like, I have no idea what even happens in the third book.

Rosemary 

The third book is the best. It’s really good. 

Sophie 

If that's the one with the non-denominational winter formal, that's I totally agree. 

Rosemary 

And that's when Michael makes a computer program to tell her that he loves her. 

Jane 

Oh yeah, okay.

Rosemary 

I would read that little section like over and over and over again, and I would be like, if only someone would love me enough to make a computer program that says- 

Sophie 

Aww, to code for you. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, and it says, like, “I love Princess Mia.” And then she, like, gets up and runs away because she's like, all embarrassed. And then she's like, later they talk and she's like, “I thought you were making fun of me,” and he's like, “Never.”

Sophie 

Aww, what a sweetie. I I love Michael. 

Rosemary 

I love Michael too. 

Sophie 

I think casting for him was great. He's so freaking weird in the movie and I love it in the scene where he's he's like still kind of mad at Mia and he comes over to the house. And she, like, gives him the last check for the car. He puts in it between his teeth as he walks out of the door. 

Jane 

Yeah, for no reason. 

Sophie 

He has nothing in his hands. What is wrong with him? I love him. 

Rosemary 

But he's also really weird in the books too. 

Jane 

Yeah, yeah, it worked. 

Rosemary 

“He fixes cars, he plays guitar,”

Rosemary and Sophie 

“and he can sing. He is so hot.” 

Jane 

“He is wicked sweet.” I think the person who said “he is wicked sweet” is the infamous cousin Meredith, who was Anne Hathaway's like… I don't know if she was technically her guardian. She was only a few years older than her. But like, I think that Anne Hathaway was still 17 when they started filming. But she was… she turned 18 during filming and that was… helpful to the filmmakers, because then she could work longer. But she was such a baby!

Sophie 

I know. Oh, she's so cute. 

Rosemary 

No, I've always loved Michael. I think he's a great character. He's a great person. He invented a robotic surgical arm in the books that, like, does heart surgery. 

Sophie 

Yeah, he's- I mean, he was… He's great. I… like I also I really get it as like someone who had – had? has - an older brother who, like all my friends were like, “Wow your brother's actually kind of hot.” And I'm over here, like Lilly, being like, what are you talking about? Are you blind? Because I live with the guy. But yeah, I definitely related to their to their family, as like neurotic Jews, just hanging out. 

Jane 

I think it's really funny how, like the moment at when they're like about to dance and at the ball at the end and and Mia doesn't know if Michael's going to show up or not and then he comes in. He like comes through the crowd and he passes Lilly and he like tickles her or something. It's like they have a weird little sibling moment there before he goes to dance with Mia and it's just like- 

Rosemary 

I knew you were gonna bring that up because I think of it every time, Jane’s just like, “It's so weird when he tickles her stomach!” 

Jane 

It is weird, but it's it's like, a good kind of weird. Of like like I think that too often, again going back to the whole like, romance versus other relationships thing. I think that that too often in romantic stories, it's like, they kind of forget about how everybody, how they're connected to everybody else once the like two get together. And I think that it's nice that their friends are there too. Like that, that Lilly and Jeremiah are also there and like it's showing that that it's like they're all connected and it's not just this. And that like Lilly is really the one who pushes Mia to to realize what being a princess could mean and how that could be a good thing and like a responsibility. 

Sophie 

Yeah. And I I also, I would agree with you, Jane, that it's weird. I think it's, maybe not on purpose, but like that is a very like, at least in my experience like my brother would do that too, and it would be very awkward, but he would like mean it in a loving way.

Jane

Right.

Sophie

He just doesn't know what else to do. 

Jane 

Yeah. No. And I I think that's great. I mean it's it's weird but, like, I I love that I love all the little weird things that happen. That's a big part of why I love this movie. There's so many weird little moments that you just kind of like, why is that there? But also I love it. I mean, just the whole thing with like when she breaks the statue, and puts the- 

Rosemary 

“Maybe it's string cheese.” 

Jane 

Yeah, exactly! She puts the finger in the mouth of the statue and and that scene is really funny too. I love when she breaks it and she immediately like shushes the statue. Like, “Don't tell anyone that I broke you.” And then like, she just sticks it in there and it's just like kind of a throwaway thing. And then it comes back in the best way. “They're famous for their cheese. Maybe it's string cheese,” and it's just, ah, it's so good. But like that, that serves no purpose, but it's hilarious. 

Rosemary 

Also, how did she break that statue? Like isn't it made out of like marble? Like…

Sophie 

Right. 

Rosemary 

That she would just like touch it and it would break? Like what? What is that statue made out of? 

Jane 

That was an untapped part of the story that she also has super strength. But just like nobody- that's why she always falls down and stuff like she does. She can't really control her own strength. 

Sophie 

Yeah, gravity is too strong. 

Rosemary 

They would be like, “We can't put that in there because then it would not be realistic.” 

Jane 

[laughs] But we'll have hints for it anyway. Ah man. 

Sophie 

Yeah, and and that her first idea is to reattach it with saliva. Like, that's good work. 

Jane 

[laughing] Uh, I love it. I love it so much. Just like fun moments like that is really, I think what makes it such an enjoyable movie, because like just, there's stuff that still makes me laugh when I've seen it more than 30 times.

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

Just like…

Rosemary

“Please don't crush my soy nuts.”

Jane

“Your soy nuts are safe.” Ohh man. Yeah, just so many great moments. And I mean, I do enjoy the movie Princess Diaries 2, but it just like has nothing to do with anything. I feel like it's so weird that they just like went ahead and made it even though the guy who played Michael couldn't be in it and they’re just like, “Well, Michael's not important anymore.”

Sophie

Yeah. 

Rosemary 

The fact that they made them break- “Oh, we're still friends, but we're broken up. And now I'm going to like, go fall in love with someone else.” That is not Mia Thermopolis. She is obsessed with Michael. She's in love with Michael. I don't care. Book, movie, whatever. It's fine. Princess Diaries 2 is fine as a movie, but it's a totally different universe. One where Raven is randomly there. And there's mattress surfing. 

Sophie 

A an African Princess.

Rosemary

Yeah. It’s just-

Sophie

Like, get someone from Africa! I mean, she's American. 

Jane 

Like, is she an African prin-? Like it's we don't know who she is, she's not explained. It's just like she shows up and and Mia’s like, “Oh it’s you!”

Sophie

“It’s my best friend!”

Jane

And it's like, who is this? We've never seen her before. Please introduce her to the audience! 

Sophie 

I do. I do wonder if at the end of the first movie they like on the plane to Genovia they enter some sort of like slipstream wormhole situation and just like land in another universe. And that's why everything is crazy in the second movie. 

Jane 

The castle that they see out the airplane window is completely different in the second movie. 

Sophie 

I do love it, in like a very campy removed from book and first movie reality way. But yeah it's it's not like… It's not the first one. 

Jane 

No, and it has a terrible script, like so many of the lines are so forced, and it's like, man, these actors were working really hard to sell this.

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

Like, certain certain moments just, like, don't work at all. There are funny lines in the second one, but I just think the the first one… And I know that like a lot of the script of this movie was changed by Garry Marshall like while they were filming it. They talked about that in - oh, I should mention the commentary, because, while this commentary is not quite as iconic as Ella Enchanted I do… I have seen this a lot of times with the commentary with Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway having tea and Julie Andrews mostly just wants to talk about the tea, like the literal tea, not like spilling the metaphorical tea of the movie. She's just very excited about having tea. But Anne Hathaway, like, remembers the names of everybody and is, like, wants to give everybody credit for everything. But they talk a lot about how Garry Marshall would expect them to be, like, ready with the lines, but also ready to just like, chuck the entire script out on the day and be like, “No, actually now we're going to do it this way and say completely different lines.” And so a lot of it I think was… not exactly improvised, but sort of changed last minute, and if you watch other Garry Marshall movies, you can see that there's just so many things that he just likes to have in his movies that don't have anything to do with anything. And I think that's part of what makes this movie weird. And it's part of what makes it work too. I think that it feels more cohesive because it's so… there's the Garry Marshall trademark through it all. And that he had his children work on it and gave it sort of a family feel, I think really worked for this one. 

Sophie 

Yeah. Rosemary, I was saying to Jane that I need nepotism justice for Penny, because Penny is the only Marshall member that is not in this movie. And he mentioned in… I can't remember if it's the commentaries or like, one of the special features that he's like, “They wanted me to cast Penny as the queen and I said absolutely not.”

[all laugh] 

Jane 

That's got to be a joke, though. I don't think that anyone considered Penny Marshall for the queen, but that would be a hilarious movie. It'd be a very different movie, but it would be hilarious. 

Sophie 

Yeah. Well, Penny Marshall and actually Carrie Fisher in one of my favorite childhood books they did like a star-studded Emperor's New Clothes reading, and Penny Marshall and Carrie Fisher played the ladies in waiting, who are like very bitchy and talk about the queen behind her back. It's fantastic. 

Jane 

That sounds amazing. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, what role could Penny Marshall have played? 

Sophie 

That's a good question. They could have taken out the puppet and had Penny be the puppet instead. On strings. 

Jane 

But they didn't use the puppet thing at all. The person who says “Maybe it's string cheese” I believe is Garry Marshall's wife, so she- Penny could have just been one of those like background people. 

Sophie 

Yeah, she could have been at the state dinner. 

Jane 

She could have been the pear juggler. 

Sophie 

That would have been great. 

Rosemary 

Or one of the reporters.

Jane

Yeah, Suki- What's… Suki Sanchez?

Sophie

Suki Sanchez? Yeah.

Rosemary

No, we don't want to get rid of Suki Sanchez. I mean, one of the ones that were like, “I’m from Teen Scene Magazine!” 

Jane 

Oh yeah. OK. 

Sophie 

“She's wearing a grunge look.” No, she's just wet. 

Jane 

That is so funny. I love that moment. It's like, “She's styling a wet sort of grunge-look hairdo.” It's like yes. 

Rosemary 

“And is wearing a sweatshirt, jeans, and Docs.” 

Jane 

“…jeans and Docs.”

Rosemary 

The important things. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I do, I do appreciate that the Docs are like the one thing that made it from book to movie. Because those are very important. 

Rosemary 

They are her trademark. 

Jane 

They mentioned in the commentary that like originally, that scene was going to be like very regal and she was going to be in her ball gown and stuff and they changed it so that they would have her looking like looking sort of… mot all put together and to show that her confidence was coming from within rather than from external things, but they still gave her a makeover. So like it was still partly external. I mean, OK, the makeover scene��� I don't like makeover scenes in movies. There's too many of them. I will say this one is pretty good. Just because Larry Miller is hilarious: his weird like accent, and then his like, fake European language thing is just like-

Rosemary 

“Brushka, Helga!” 

Jane 

Yeah. Like. Yeah, [imitates nonsense phrase]. Like, he just makes up stuff and it's just so silly and that, like his his little things that he says, like her eyebrows are named Frida and Kahlo. And it's like, really weird things. And so it's it's like not bad. But I also kind of wish that she hadn't had to have a makeover, and they could have just, like, left her hair as it was. I know… I know that her makeover is really to make her look more like Anne Hathaway, and she was like- Anne Hathaway had worn a wig and like fake eyebrows and stuff like that in her, like, earlier look. But I think it would have been really interesting to show like a quote unquote “ugly” person not having to change to be conventionally attractive and still being able to be empowered. But like of course, I'm not saying that they shouldn't have cast Anne Hathaway because she's great in this movie.

Sophie

Sure.

Jane

But at the same time, it's like, Anne Hathaway is also very conventionally attractive. So like, it would have been cool to have a like more not conventionally attractive looking person in this role, and just like, let her be who she is and look the way she looks. But that obviously wasn't what this movie was trying to do, but like that is one thing that that bothers me a little bit about it.

Sophie

Yeah. 

Rosemary 

She's also blonde in the books.

Jane

Yes.

Rosemary

Don't they give her a Pixie cut? 

Sophie 

Yeah, they cut- I think that's what Paolo's referencing when he says, “Next time a little shorter.” But yes, there's a very distinct reference in the book where she says her hair looks like an upside down yield sign because it's so it, like, here and then goes straight. You can't see me in the podcast, but I'm gesturing. 

Jane 

Yeah, it's like a triangle hair thing. I remember that being mentioned. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, I think about that a lot. Like,

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

Her yield sign hair.

Sophie 

I feel like part of what makes the makeover scene work  - I I will agree with you, Jane. I think they give her way too much makeup for a 15-year-old, and then they just like the framing of it as like, she started out so hideous and then look what I… look what I made of this mess you gave me - is Paolo's, like you said, he's just so funny. He's so weird and a little gross, but like in an amusing sort of way. And she also seems to be… once they finish plucking her eyebrows, she seems to be really enjoying herself. She's got her Walkman. She's got cucumbers on her eyes. She's like, bopping to the music a little bit. 

Jane 

“The cucumber does nothing.”

Sophie

[laughing] Nothing.

Jane

Yeah, I don't object to it too much. It's just sort of the concept of…of makeovers is a little… 

Speaker 

Sophie

Jane 

Obnoxious to me, but it it works. And I also think it's interesting because I believe from what I remember of the books, when she's exposed to the press in the books, it was actually the grandmother who told the press. And they changed it in the movie so that it was Paolo. 

Sophie 

“I, Paulo Puttanesca!” 

Jane 

That scene, just like, first of all, we also have to talk about Sandra Oh. 

Sophie

Yes!

Rosemary 

I was gonna bring her up too. 

Jane 

She, as the vice principal, Gupta, is so good. She's like only in it a little bit, but every moment she has is perfect. From the from the beginning, when she's like, “Morning, Lilly! …Lilly's friend.”

Sophie

Lilly’s friend!

Jane

And like but that scene when she like answers the phone with her iconic, “Gupta. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The Queen is coming. To Grove High School.” It's so good. And then and then when the Queen shows up and she's like fawning over her and, like, imitating her gestures and then just like, she, like, gives her this teacup. And it's like, “I'm sorry, we don't have finer China.” And then she just, like, hands a paper cup to Helen, the mom.”

Sophie

Uh-huh. “Here!”

Jane

So good. And then when Joe brings Paolo in and they have their whole little like routine of like he keeps starting to go and Joe, like, pushes him back is- that scene is just… There's just so much comedy gold there. And it's like it's amazing. 

Sophie 

Well, yeah, so Larry Miller is in two of my favorite childhood movies that came out around the same time: this one and Best in Show. 

Jane 

Yeah. And he's also in Mighty Wind. And he-

Sophie

Right.

Jane

He's he sets up one of Jennifer Coolidge's best moments too, when, because he's the one that she has one- They have one brain between them. The two of them, so yes. 

Sophie 

Oh, OK. Yeah. So he just like… The difference between those two roles, but they're both equally funny and weird. 

Jane 

Yeah, yeah. Best in Show he's awful. Like, I mean, I guess he's awful in this too. Like, his character is. But in that one, he's just like openly flirting with a married woman and then his- oh yeah, his job is like to talk people down…

Sophie 

Down off ledges, yes. 

Jane 

…who are going to jump off building, but he's terrible at it. And he's just like, “Oh, they always jump.” 

Sophie 

“Their eyes pop out like grapes!” 

Jane 

[laughs] Ah, he's so he's such a silly man.

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

But yes, so I enjoy him. I enjoy Sandra Oh, a lot. I enjoy Kathleen Marshall. I think that her Charlotte is…

Sophie

So sweet.

Jane

…a very a great character. I also… Not that I want there to be more romances, but I really like the thing between Clarisse and Joe and how they… their dancing scene is kind of… it- it has moments that remind me of The Sound of Music with Christopher Plummer like their dancing scene. But I love when Charlotte comes in and is like about to say something and then sees they’re having a moment and just like backs away.

Sophie

Yep, I’ll go away now. Yeah

Jane

My other favorite Charlotte moment is when [laughs] when she's worried because Mia hasn't shown up at the ball at the end and Clarisse is like, “Is everything all right?” And she goes. “Everything's perfect. Perfect? It's wonderful!” “You're not very good at lying, are you, Charlotte?”

Sophie 

“No I'm not.” 

Jane 

“No, I'm not, your Majesty.” Oh, it's so good. So good. There's just… I think that's ultimately… like, I mean the story overall is great and the acting is great and all that. But like, I think just all those little fun little moments are really what keeps me returning to this movie is it's just like there's so many fun little scenes like that. 

Rosemary 

“And that's enough pear juggling.” 

Jane 

Such a good- like, ah, there's just, yeah. It's just such a fun little movie. 

Sophie 

It's funny, you mentioned the- the dance scene because I was thinking about how… like sweet, that is when he says, “You've been wearing black for far too long.” And in comparison, I had no recollection of this line from Lilly, but she says to Mia, she says, “The guy died, what, two months ago? I thought you'd gotten over it already.” What are you talking about? 

Rosemary 

Her dad died 8 weeks ago and you're like, “You should move on.”

Sophie

Chop chop! 

Jane 

Well, but also, she'd never met her dad. So like…

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

True…

Jane

But also like I feel like that's also not a very long time to mourn your son? Because it's like…

Sophie

Right.

Jane

But I think that her husband died the previous year? 

Sophie 

Yeah, I think he's- I think he's referencing Rupert, not Phillipe. 

Jane 

“King Rupert, may he rest in peace.” 

Sophie 

“Rest in peace.”

Jane 

That's from the second one though. 

Sophie 

I also didn't recall Pierre. I didn't recall there being a brother at all. 

Jane 

Oh yeah. 

Sophie 

Maybe he's not in the book, but… 

Jane 

Is he in the book? 

Sophie 

I don't remember him. 

Jane 

It's really like referenced, sort of offhandedly, like, “Oh yes, my my eldest Pierre wanted to abdicate and join the church.”

Sophie

Yeah

Jane

It's like, you have another kid?

Sophie

What?

Rosemary

Yeah.

Jane

Where's he? That… yeah, that was... I feel like that was kind of unnecessary. 

Sophie 

Yeah, there are a lot of changes that I feel like they really didn't need to make. Like Mr. G in the book is an algebra teacher, Helen’s boyfriend. And now all of a sudden, he's Mr. O'Connell and teaches debate, but also coaches baseball, but also teaches English? 

Rosemary 

Is just always there. 

Jane 

They have like four teachers in the school and they're just all in every class. 

Sophie 

There's Coach Harbula, there’s Vice Principal Gupta, and there's Mr. O'Connell and maybe there's one other person floating around.

Rosemary 

The choir teacher. 

Sophie

Oh, yes. Yes okay.

Jane 

In the scene when when Mia puts the ice cream on Lana and Gupta’s like, “Oh, I was in a very important meeting,” it's just the four of them.

Speaker 

It's just them having lunch. 

Jane 

Like, that's the entire staff of the- of the school. 

Sophie

Of Grove High School.

Rosemary 

“Lana got coned! Lana got coned!” 

Jane 

I was so confused by the “Lana got coned” chant for a long time.

Rosemary

Yes.

Jane

Because I couldn't tell what they were saying. And I was like, is that a thing?

Rosemary

I know!

Jane

Or is that just like, what people would have just decided to call this? 

Sophie 

It's the early 2000s, as opposed to late 2000s equivalent of getting slushied I guess. It's just something that happens in high schools with mean kids. I don't know. I also, speaking of not being able to understand what people are saying, for my entire life until this rewatch, I thought, Fontana said after the debate situation, I thought she said to Mia, “I thought you were speaking at the Believe It convention.” 

Speaker 

OK, I thought that was just me! 

Sophie 

It’s bulimic.

Jane

Yeah!

Sophie

Which makes so much more sense, but I was like… what? Who? What is this? Is this something that I should know about?

Rosemary

Oh, the Believe It? What? 

Jane 

Yeah, that's what I heard too.

Rosemary

No!

Jane

Because she's like, “Is it true you're speaking at the Believe It convention?” and-

Rosemary

No!

Jane

Yeah, okay.

Sophie

Like I can’t believe it.

Rosemary 

It’s definitely “bulimic.” 

Jane 

Well, yes, that does make a lot more sense. But yeah, no, I couldn't understand that for a long time too. OK. I'm glad it's not just me. I thought once I figured out what they were saying, I was like... 

Sophie 

Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. 

Jane 

Of course, that's what they're saying, but OK, yes. 

Rosemary 

I was definitely… it was one of the more recent rewatch is when I realized she was saying “a yachting yahoo.” I thought she was just saying “a yada yahoo.” 

Jane 

Ohh yeah, I thought that for at first for a while too. OK. Do you remember? I I have no clue when this was, but we used to have a computer in the basement and it didn't- It wasn't connected to the internet, we just used it for like writing papers and stuff?

Sophie

Typing and stuff, yeah.

Jane

And it would have… we made it so that the screen saver was like word art. And we… it was like, the showers upstairs didn't work, so we would always shower in the basement and we walk by this computer and like every time we would walk by, we would change the screensaver to the next line from that scene when Lilly and Mia are fighting and playing basketball, like that scene. So I just remember, like we would just, we quoted that whole scene in the screen saver on that computer for no reason just because it was a fun thing to do.

Rosemary

Yeah! 

Sophie 

That that very much tracks with what I know of your childhood and your relationship. 

Jane 

Yes. So I still think about that computer whenever I think about that scene.

Sophie

That’s funny.

Jane

But I'm I'm not sure if we wrote “yachting yahoo” or if we wrote, “yada yahoo.” 

Rosemary 

Yeah, I don't know. I also need to mention that I was a youth that kept a diary pretty faithfully, and there is a section of a diary that I had around that time where I was like, “I can't believe I keep saying the word ‘I.’ I should think about other people!” And it was because I was like, inspired by Mia Thermopolis's speech. But it was like, it's so funny. There’s this little section of like 12-year-old me being like, “I need to stop saying ‘I.’” Like it was just a new thought that had occurred to me. 

Sophie 

Sure. That's… that's sad and cute at the same time. 

Jane

Yes.

Rosemary 

So what else do we need to cover? 

Sophie 

Well, I definitely want to mention the soundtrack, which I think is one of my favorite parts of this movie. I think I… I mean, I've seen the movie a zillion times and like, had the VHS and the DVD, but I also had the CD and I must have listened to the CD until it was like, so scratched beyond belief. Every song is so good.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm. 

Jane 

Yeah. I remember we got the CD from the library a few times, but we never owned it. We had the Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack. 

Rosemary

Yeah.

Sophie 

Also good, but not quite as good. 

Jane 

I was just so excited about Julie Andrews singing again. So like… 

Sophie 

Yes. That is my favorite song from the second movie. 

Jane 

Yeah, definitely. Not sure why Raven’s there, but you know, it's still a great song. 

Sophie 

She has to do some sort of hippity hoppity for the youth. They they won't they won't last doing the… just Julie Andrews doing like a musical style number. 

Jane 

“But I don’t know how to do this sort of thing.”

Rosemary [overlapping with Jane]

“I don’t know how to do this.”

[all laugh]

Jane 

Oh man, anyway, but yes, the the soundtrack for the original movie, which is what we're supposed to be talking about, is really good. There's so many great songs on it, and I really I- it's super random, but I really enjoy Mandy Moore singing “Stupid Cupid.” I don't really know why she sings it there in the movie, but like it's great. 

Sophie 

It's a weird song to have in that scene. It's weird that she sings it, but I'm so glad she does. 

Jane 

I also really enjoy that Anna and Fontana are there as backup singers, but their mouths never move. They're just like doing a dance. And like you hear the like background vocals, but they are not singing. 

Sophie 

They're not lip syncing. Yeah, I will say Mandy did not lip sync that scene particularly well. But her outfit is good enough to where it doesn't even matter. Her polka dot skirt is incredible. 

Rosemary 

And the like uni-boob tank top sweater. 

Sophie 

Yeah, the the halter sweater with the handkerchief hem. Oh my gosh, it's very Y2K. 

Rosemary 

It's exactly what I would wear to the beach. 

Sophie 

Sure. And platform flip flops. 

Rosemary 

I also need to confess something that as a child when this movie came out, whatever, I was very confused because I thought that Mandy Moore and Marilyn Monroe were the same person. And so I was so confused because I like knew that Marilyn Monroe… like I wasn't 100% sure who she was, but I knew she was like an icon and that like she was in Princess Diaries, cause it was like an alliterative M name, and I totally like was like, I don't know, it's got to be Marilyn Monroe. And then like… finding out more about Marilyn Monroe as I got older and then I was like…. I don't think that's Marilyn Monroe...

[all laugh] 

Jane 

I think she's very dead. 

Sophie 

I don’t think so. 

Rosemary 

I don't think it's the same person, but I’m not sure. 

Sophie 

It could be, but I'm not quite sure. 

Jane 

That's amazing. 

Rosemary 

But I remember being very confused about Mandy Moore and Marilyn Monroe in that movie. 

Jane 

That's amazing.

Sophie

That’s really cute.

Jane

One thing that I think is really interesting that I didn't quite pick up on until more recent rewatches is like just speaking of the whole beach thing: They're taking pictures of a 15-year-old in a state of undress and publishing them in tabloids. And it's seen as the 15-year-old's fault. 

Sophie

Mm-hmm.

Rosemary 

It's horrible. 

Jane 

It's it's terrible and like it's supposed to be bad. And you're like, supposed to think like, oh, it's- I feel bad for her, but I hadn't quite absorbed how awful that is. And it's like, I mean, that does happen, stuff like that. And it's like it's her fault when it very much was not for several reasons. But I just, it's just like, struck me as so much more disturbing to be like, OK, we're gonna have this undressed teenager that we took pictures of without her consent and blame her for it, and that was upsetting to me when I was just realizing that. But I also think that the scene when Clarisse confronts Mia about that is really well done. I think that they like, hit those emotional beats really well, and just like that, that she's really disappointed in her. But like Mia handles it well. And then I love when Joe comes in and sort of says, like “You were too harsh on her” and that they managed to slip in some levity with her with that moment of, like, “Her friends didn't help- Anna, Banana… Montana.” And I love that. And then that like, that's the moment when Clarisse says, “I have no idea what you're talking about” is great. But I also think it's like such a good point of, like, the thing. About like, “As a queen, I was too critical of the person who could become the next ruler of my country.” And he says, “No. As a grandmother, you were too harsh on your granddaughter.” And then that she takes that into the scene when they're in Mia's house talking about giving the speech or whatever, but she says, like, “I am first and foremost your grandmother.” And then that great moment when she hugs her and then just kind of goes, “Ah! I- I did it! I hugged someone!” is so great because she's been so emotionally distant and yeah. I just, I think that they really like they… they Julie Andrews-ified the queen but they didn't like make her completely like… soft and lovable. I mean, I guess it's kind of Mary Poppins too, where she's like, standoffish, but then also like sweet underneath. 

Rosemary 

But she's definitely not Maria von Trapp. 

Jane 

No.

Sophie

Correct.

Jane

She has to go through a journey too. Like the queen goes through a journey as well as Mia, and they go through very different journeys but kind of meet up at the end. And it's also just really nice that Clarisse still believed that Mia could do it and, like, had a tiara ready for her, even though she said she was going to step down and like… The whole end part of the movie just really pays off and I think that their relationship arc, the grandmother/granddaughter relationship is really… a great central story to this whole thing. Like it's like, yeah, it's about a girl who finds out she's a Princess, but it's also about, like, becoming connected with her estranged grandmother, who also needs some connection in her life. And I think that that's very well done. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I totally agree. 

Jane 

Mia's dad is dead, but we see, like pictures of him and one like flashback and that is Anne Hathaway's actual father. The voice is not. But they were going to use pictures of him, but then the scene with- when he's writing the note in the diary, they were just going to have somebody else wearing a wig to look like his hair, but then he happened to be in San Francisco for unrelated reasons while they were filming there. So they just, like, got him writing the letter. So that's kind of fun. 

Sophie 

That’s so cute. 

Rosemary 

I think another thing that this movie does well is like, adults taking teenagers seriously. 

Jane 

Oh yeah. 

Rosemary 

And like listening to them like… Mia and her mom had, like, real conversations together, and her mom doesn't just like, brush her off and be like, well, you're just a dumb teenager. Like her mom, like takes things to heart. And, you know, when she's like, “How could you lie to me for 15 years? I don't feel protected,” like her mom, like, takes that and it's like, this is where we're at now, and let's see what we can do to move forward. And then again when Mia’s like, “I can't believe you're dating my teacher!” She's like… she actually apologizes to her.

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

And like when even like… the premise of the Mia has to hit a baseball to pass gym class is stupid, but like I even really like that gym teacher because she's just like, “I'm rooting for you.” And like…

Sophie

Yeah, I love Coach Harbula.

Rosemary

Mm-hmm. 

Sophie 

She, like… without like compromising her… like Mia says, “I can't do this. I'm a girl” and she's like... “Hello!”

Jane 

“What am I, a duck?” 

Sophie 

“What am I, a duck?” Yeah. Which is hilarious when in the bonus features, you see that actor make duck noises and various other sound effects, which she's fantastic at. But yeah, she's very supportive while like being like, “You, you got to do this thing. I know it's hard.” Then she does it, and she's so proud of her at the end, which is really nice. And you know, having Josh get hit in the balls is… not a downside in the slightest. 

Jane 

I also think it's really funny that nobody else in the outfield can possibly pick up the ball. Just like, “You have to get up and throw it. We can't come over and find it.” Like I think that’s really funny. 

Sophie 

Well, one kid, one kid is on the phone with his mom about the dentist, so it couldn't be him. And then-

Jane

Bobby Bad.

Sophie

Twelve girls are doing some sort of cheerleading routine, so it couldn't be them. 

Jane 

Why- OK. But also like, why is the entire staff there? Because like Gupta- 

Rosemary 

Mr. O'Connell have picked up the ball. 

Sophie

I know!

Jane 

Yeah. Like, why was he there in the gym class? Why is Gupta coaching the cheerleaders? Like it's just like it's... I don't know. OK, two things that I was gonna say. One thing: going back to the mom relationship. I love when after the like beach fiasco, the mom says like, “My mom always told me not to cry and like to be strong. But you've been hurt. So you just cry.” And like I think that's so great. It's like, yeah, feel your feelings. Let's encourage girls to to feel their feelings and not shame them for being upset when upsetting things happen. And the other thing going way back to when we were talking about why the teacher changes from algebra to the like, debate teacher, because in the books Mia is really bad at math and then like her mom’s dating her math teacher. But I think that it really… it contributed to the arc to have her like, have this fear of public speaking and then like going into being a Princess where like you have to do a lot of public speaking and like that, adding to the reason of like, why not only why she doesn't want to be a Princess, but why she doesn't even want to show up to abdicate the throne. Like she's going to run away to Colorado in a car that doesn't run. That seems like a good plan. 

Rosemary 

Without a driver's license. 

Jane

Yeah.

Sophie 

With the cat! 

Jane 

With the cat, yeah! 

Sophie 

She's gonna take the cat to go rock climbing. And you can tell Fat Louie is like, first of all, this is a terrible idea. Second of all, please do not bring me into this. I want to live in my warm firehouse, OK, with my crazy artist mom. Do not take me to the rocks. 

Jane 

Yes. But anyway. So yeah, I think that that might have been part of why they decided to make the teacher that the mom ends up with be the debate teacher. So they could show that- set it up really early. 

Rosemary 

Yeah, it's definitely like easier to show being bad at debate in a movie than it is to be like “I am bad at algebra.” Like…

Jane

Yeah. 

Sophie 

Well, yeah. And it's, it's also like it's not Mean Girls where she has to solve the equation at the end of the movie for the big finish. It’s like she has to make this speech. 

Rosemary [overlapping]

Make a speech.

Sophie

Right.

Jane 

Yeah, it's like it's not that she's found out she's like inheriting a math thing like, “You… you have… you have to be the head of the math department because of who your father was” or something. It's like, “Oh, no, but I'm bad at math!”

Sophie 

Yeah. That's hilarious. 

Jane 

So yeah, so I think that it works. I do think it's weird that they changed his name but…whatever 

Sophie 

Hmm-hmm. I don't know, maybe there are more Irish people than Italians in San Francisco, which I don't think is true, but- 

Jane 

They changed it to San Francisco just so they could have the scene where she, like, goes down the hill and runs into a trolley. Like, that- which is a great scene, by the way, but like-

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

It's like it doesn't really have anything to do with the story. I guess I guess it shows the queen in action, which it's a little bit of like showing that royalty can get away with stuff that other people can't. But I just think it's just so great to show that the queen can like... 

Sophie 

She's loosening up a little bit. Yeah, I mean, you, first of all, get the nuns calling 911 and they're busy and they say, “For the love of God,” which is hilarious, iconic. Then you get the Order of the Rose and then at the end, she says “Goodbye trolley people.” 

Jane 

And you get the, “Does anybody have a Saber?” “I've got an umbrella!” Which I love. I love, first of all, like, of course, everyone's carrying around a Saber, and then just like “I've got an umbrella” and she's like, “uhh…” “Well, I have an emergency brake!” “This will do nicely,” so great. And then and then I love that the trolley driver and the police officer show up at the ball at the end with little like things like they got an official badge.

Sophie

With their medals, yeah. So cute.

Jane

Yeah, it's like, oh, yes, they- let's make the Order of the Rose a real thing. And, and also Anne Hathaway's “Oh- OH OOOOHHH!” is so well done. Like, every moment of that scene is just great. 

Sophie 

Yeah, 100%. 

Rosemary 

I think going back to adults taking teens seriously and paying attention to them, I think another really good example of that is Joe.

Sophie

Mm-hmm.

Jane

Oh yeah.

Rosemary

And the ways that he, like, pays attention to Mia and like he encourages her, like, when Lilly has a negative reaction to her like getting a makeover. And he's just like, you're going to be OK. And then what we already talked about when he, like, goes… when Clarissa was like, “Was I too hard on her?” and he was like, “Yeah, you were.” I really like the ways that Joe is like a safe adult for her. And like is a really good bodyguard sort of person. 

Sophie 

Yeah, he won't let her take the flags off the limo, but he will quote Eleanor Roosevelt to her and put up the divider screen so she can put on pantyhose in the back seat. 

Jane 

Well, and he won't let her call him Joey. 

Sophie 

Right. But he'll go and buy her high heels. 

Rosemary 

He went and got her the pantyhose and the high heels.

Sophie

Yeah.

Rosemary

And like, he seems like he knows what's going on. Also when he's like, “with the beach friends” and like knowing that they're like, ridiculous and mean to her and like… Yeah, I think... I think that that is another reason why this movie was so like… comforting as a child and teen to watch because you're like, “my problems do matter,” and like “adults do care about teens” kind of thing. I think that there's that sense of it that really makes it a comforting movie and like… I hope that all teenagers have aJoe in their life, or a Clarisse, or a Helen or a Coach Harbula, or Charlotte, or, you know? The way that that Mia has these supportive people in her life that aren't even necessarily related to her. It's a really nice portrayal of that. 

Sophie

Yeah.

Jane

Yeah.

Sophie 

I totally agree. 

Jane 

Anything else that we desperately want to add? I mean, there's so much more that I could say about this movie, but uh, I don't want to just go on and on forever. I think that that that we've covered a lot of the important things about it. 

Sophie 

Maybe we can release our own deleted scenes at some point. 

[Jane and Rosemary laugh]

Sophie 

With puppets.

Rosemary

And bananas?

Sophie

Yes. 

Jane 

The deleted scenes are very interesting. I think that they did a great job of figuring out what to delete and what to keep. 

Rosemary 

A great job of deleting them. 

Sophie

Yes.

Jane 

Yeah. Because a lot of times like you, you see deleted scenes and you're like, “Oh, this could have been in the movie.” I mean, I guess the one I I do think it would have been nice to see Mia and Michael having pizza together.

Sophie

Mm-hmm.

Jane

Because it is a little odd that the pizza is so important at the end, and they've just like kind of mentioned it once in a throwaway line right before “Wait up. Wait for me! Not you. I don't even know you!” which is amazing and I love it so much. We haven't talked enough about Lilly I don't think. But she is a great character.

Sophie

Mm-hmm.

Jane

I feel like very often in movies where there's like a best friend, the best friend is just kind of there to like be a sidekick and I think Lilly Moskovitz is no one’s sidekick and she, like, is doing her best to make a difference in the world. And then, like finds out that her friend actually might have the means to really make a difference. And like, calls her out when she's like, “Yeah, you absolutely can do this.” But she's like Lilly's not perfect. Like, she gets really jealous of Mia. And so I think that that she's a very complex character. And I really like the way that she's portrayed. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I think if we were talking about the second movie we could say more because I think Lilly is a more active participant in the sequel, but we do get the great scene of her trying to vamp while she has Jeremiah on Shut Up and Listen. And you know that is one of the major conflicts is like Mia’s ditching all her friends for this, you know, popularity that she thinks she wants and then it turns out that that's not actually what's going to make her happy. 

Jane 

It's so wild to me that she doesn't even tell Lilly that she's going on a date with Josh. Like it… it seems like that would be something that you would tell your best friend, even if you forgot that you were supposed to be doing something with them. It's almost like, did Mia forget? Or was she, like, intentionally avoiding her because she- I mean, I know there was the whole thing earlier in the film when when Lilly's like, “Jerk and jerkette sighting” and like, Lilly does never like Josh, so I guess that could have been part of it too, but it's like at least she tells Michael that she's not showing up for their date, whereas like she doesn't even tell Lilly she's not going to be on her show. 

Sophie 

Yeah, I do think there could have been some sort of mention like “I can't tell Lilly what I'm doing because she's gonna judge me and like, she's gonna be even more mad if I, you know, tell her I'm I'm going to the party with Josh than if I just, like, didn't show up.” But…

Jane 

Yeah, but she doesn't even… it's like she forgot about Lilly completely.

Sophie 

Right. 

Jane 

Like it's like I'm not thinking about Lilly at all. And it's like… interesting to show her kind of starting to go off into this direction of like, “I'm going to be a mean popular kid” and then just like, totally failing at it and being like, “You know, that wasn't me. I totally messed up.” The movie does a good job of showing you how to take responsibility for when you mess up and then like showing, but you don't have to take responsibility for everything. Cause like not all the stuff that happened at the beach was Mia's fault, and it's portrayed as unreasonable that like people get so upset at her about that, but also like some of the stuff she did was bad, like she ditched her best friend and like showing her take responsibility for that, apologize, try and make amends for both Lilly and Michael, I I think I just think that's done really well. And I think that that's a good message to be giving to kids of like, you do need to take responsibility for the stuff that is your fault. 

Sophie 

And when she does apologize, she never like demands that she be forgiven. Like she says to Lilly on the roof, she's like, “I hope you can forgive me.”

Jane

Mm-hmm.

Sophie

She doesn't like expect that that's automatically going to come just because she said she's sorry, which I think is really cool. 

Jane 

Yeah and I love Lilly’s response of, “But what will I wear?” And she's just like, “Oh, I'm so glad you're gonna come!” And it's it's just a really sweet moment. 

Sophie 

And I will, I will say when she hugs Lilly after Lilly says she's going to come to the party, her foot does pop. 

Jane 

Yes it does. I I noted that as well. 

Sophie 

So it's not just, it's not just a romantic thing. It's for any kind of love. 

Jane 

Yeah. And again, that's… what I do really like about this movie is that they focus on a lot of different kinds of love, a lot of different deep relationships with different people, and I think they do a really good job of developing many of them and that's really great. 

Sophie 

I love this movie. 

Jane 

Ah, me too. 

Rosemary 

I do too. Well, thanks for… thanks for having me on to talk about it again. 

Jane 

Yes, I'm so glad to have both of you back. 

Sophie 

I'm so glad we got to talk about it. The three of us, that was fun. 

Jane 

Yes! So uh… thank you so much for being here and I… don't know how to wrap this up. 

Rosemary 

Miracles happen.

Sophie

“Thank you for being here today.” 

Jane 

“Thank you for being here today.” Yes. Oh, that's another great moment that I must mention when Joe is, like, so committed to pretending to drive the car that he even like puts the parking brake on before getting up. So great. Anyway, “thank you for being here today.” I love this movie. I love both of you and I'm so glad that we did this. 

Sophie

Me too.

Rosemary  

“Goodbye trolley people!”

[all laugh] 

Jane 

Ah, that was so fun. Thank you to Sophie and Rosemary for that lovely chat, and thank you audience for listening! This will be my final guest episode; my top six are so personal that it feels right to just talk about them myself. The next two episodes will be the final tie on my list, featuring the two movies that I watched 31 times. Coincidentally, one of them is the oldest movie in my entire top 40, and the other is the newest. The newest movie is also the shortest movie on the list, so I’ll be talking about that first. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “First off, I work alone. Always have, always will. Second, take a hike. I don’t touch Hollywood cases. Not since… The War.”

[hb-writes]

Any Halloween headcanons of your OCs?

Yes, of course. 🙂

Suits (Charlie Specter) - Charlie absolutely loves horror films and haunted houses. The more nightmare-inducing, the better. Harvey cannot understand the appeal. She usually ends up knocking on his door when she can't fall asleep afterwards.

Peaky (Clara Shelby) - Something about the chillier air in autumn makes Clara want to bake so she always pesters the chef at Arrow House to teach her new recipes. She's an absolute scaredy cat. Terrified of ghost stories. And I'm not entirely certain on the nature of Halloween in 1920's UK, but from a brief search, going around to houses in costume and performing for food appears to have possibly been a thing. And I can absolutely picture little Finn and Clara doing just that, developing a little performance and going house to house for some spare sweets.

Twilight (Mia Cullen) - Mia dresses up as a vampire more than once for Halloween. She does it as a child to be more like her family and then again as a teenager just to be a smartass.

The Punisher (Lenny Falconio) - Lenny loves Halloween and doing all of the stereotypical fall things. She's very serious about pumpkin carving, apple picking, and putting together homemade costumes for everyone.

True Blood (Elisabeth Northman) - Elisabeth has never gone trick or treating.

Shades (Emmeline Grey) - Emma has always had the most extravagant Halloween costumes. Like thinking full gowns and tiaras when she wanted to be a Disney princess. Her birthday is shortly after Halloween, so she also usually liked to have Halloween-themed bday parties while growing up.

The Family Stone (Maggie Stone) - Most of Maggie's Halloween costumes growing up were old costumes belonging to her older siblings and almost all of them were difficult to guess what they were supposed to be (Sybil and Kelly are a bit eccentric, after all).

Supernatural (Nora Winchester) - Pretty sure Dean is more into Trick or Treating than Nora because he always makes sure she gets to go even if they're on the road. It's a great way to get boat loads of free candy and to pick up chicks. Nora's fine with it until she gets to be ~13 years old and feels too old to be going door to door, but Dean pushes it anyway.

White Collar (Alice Burke) - Alice loves going to look at the fancy Brownstones on the Upper West Side decorated for Halloween. She gets special permission to have Neal's radius extended temporarily so he can go with her.

Marvel (Maxine Parker) - Max dresses up as a different avenger each year (another girl being a casual smartass 😅).

[noblehcart]

HC Dump: Gabby's kids edition

Ana's haphephobia is incredibly difficult for her to deal with on a daily basis and was a monumental herculean task for her to endure when more kids started staying with Gabby. Thanks to her trauma she can hardly stand people touching her with very few exceptions that she's learned to trust such as Gabby. With the younger kids she's been able to swallow it down for the necessary aspects because she rationalizes that they're children and of no threat/harm and that they do love her like a big sister/second mom. Anyone else however she avoids like the plague, especially men.

Mia has VOWED to ruin her father one day by becoming famous and successful. She has it planned out to the detail how it will happen and how she will announce their relationship and the proof of it before society and the press. She's even planned her revenge dress though everyone has tried to correct her on the term, but she refuses to budge because that is what it is. A dress for revenge and decimation on the man who destroyed a little girl. Pretty eyes aren't the only thing she inherited from Silas St. Claire since she wears spite equally as well.

Gabby is sorely tempted to kick Hayden out of the apartment, but not for bad reasons. She feels an enormous guilt about him dedicating so much to their ragtag family that she worries he's not setting up for his own life and future outside of them. She wants him to have his own life outside of family because one day the kids will be grown and gone and he needs to have his own life, dreams and future.

Lily doesn't know what she's going to do. Ever or when she grows up. Its a question she gets asked by adults all the time and she just sheepishly shrugs and half hides behind Gabby. She's a little girl with a genius intellect, but is terrified to use it after her experience with her last set of foster parents who just wanted her to be normal. Gabby tries to let Lily be Lily whether she wants to read fantasy books or science textbooks. More often than not though Lily's intellect is kept on the downlow for her to reveal herself- if she wants. The rule in the family however is that they don't push or diminish anyone's intellect in the house and that everyone helps everyone with homework. Sometimes though Lily will sit up early in the morning with Gabby as she balances the household accounts and bills and chirps in to help out.

Sophia lives in her own world where she is a princess and everything else is her kingdom. No one in the family has the heart to tell her otherwise as she is the only one in the family that still has that childhood innocence that was taken from all of them- aside from Victoria. Sophia is also obsessed with the Disney princess by the same name.

Every child in the family, except Nick, pitches in to help care for Victoria. Gabby, however, is mildly concerned that the twins, Noah and Erin, will use her as part of their science experiments and so they never get sole watch over the six month old. Of the entire family its Sophia and Victoria that get 'new' clothes because Mia makes them new sets because they're small and so its easier and cheaper with the little amount of fabric needed.

One of the best days of the year for the Christensen clan is when their local thrift store has their yearly 75% off sale and Gabby lets the kids pick out ten items of clothing or toys. They attack with a game plan as they head into the throng of people also there for the sale and divide and conquer.

Things Gabby is terrified of is having to give 'The Talk' to the younger boys in the household. She goes back and forth on asking Hayden to give the younger boys the conversation, but also worries that even he doesn't know quite the right way since he's only twenty-three himself.

All the girls in the Christensen clan have a means of self defense on them because they live in a rough neighborhood. Gabby has a taser, Ana has a high frequency alarm and a taser, Mia has pepper spray/high frequency alarm. Lily has a high frequency alarm/tracker along with Sophia who also has the alarm/tracker and a whistle. Victoria however has a small tracker/airtag that is always tucked into her pocket.

[is-therefreefood]

Princess diaries is such a top 10 Disney movie. Ofc I’m going to rewatch it in my SF hotel room with a glass of free wine

The CITY. The cinematography. The SOUNDTRACK. The shipping. Ugh.

I wonder where their high school is within the city. I should Visit.

SANDRA OH MY QUEEN. Unsure why she’s miss Gupta tho. She gives off the same energy as my bosses boss

“….Lily’s friend” has me dying.

THE bubblegum kiss omg. First sip of wine.

Ugh should I re-read the books again (yes, probably)

I heard this quote that the better teenagers are written the more insufferable adults Find them and yikes.

As a child I thought he liked the sound of “affirmative.” (I didn’t know what it meant). 6 sips.

She’s so cool as a rock climbing girlie. Fomo fr.

You mean her Algebra teacher

Helen what a queen. 3 sips. (For book differences)

MICHAEL. Kinggggggg.

I thought soynut was some kind of keychain she had. Also, remember when keychains were big? 4 sips.

Dude charlotte is such a girl boss fr. Also, drinking game for everytime they say Genovia? jk

Yo this version of Mia has to be on the spectrum no (no h8)

The fact this unlocks her diary (SPOILERS) made me sad bc once the book fills up she can’t use it. 10 sips

See the fact she did camp fire girls makes her a badass. She also seems like a girls girl.

Princess major 101 - but also, I need this. 6 sips.

I love the Joe plot twist

her ROOM bro. This is my all time favorite fictional bedroom

8 drinks. Remember when the neighbor was trans in the book? Representation!

11. I JUST GOT THE HERSE JOKE. OMG

8 lily is a terrible friend. TWO MONTHS? I thought it was a year !

These hills are indeed no joke

What is michels m&m obsession….

Bro why is this soundtrack NOT ON SPOTIFY

SoMa mentioned! 8.

rip Aaron Carter. Oof. 9.

He teaches history and debate?

I know that the 2000s were a long time ago ago, but are we seriously going to ignore that she got sexually harassed on camera and on top of that adults were taking photos of her — a 15-year-old — in a towel?? Like, it was still illegal

Then again insinuating, she was in a sex scandal, which I didn’t get until just now, was very 2000s media and we owe celebrities of that time an apology

I just realized lily and charlotte have a part of the school named after them. Also, BSB!!

...I kind of stopped live blogging after this but been inspired to re-read the series (again) for the first time in three years. I also went to real life Baker Beach <3 and their school HAS to be Lombard St...right?

[pynkhues]

Movie ask . The little mermaid 🧜🏾‍♀️ (Hallie’s version)

Cinderella ( Lilys version)

Alice in wonderland ( Mia’s version)

Ah, cute, anon!

The Little Mermaid (Halle's version)

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

The Little Mermaid was like - - theee Disney movie for me growing up, so it was pretty fun to see this as a new version for a new audience. Halle was such a good Ariel - she has that bright eyed Disney princess energy - and her singing voice is so beautiful. I thought she had good chemistry with Jonah Hauer-King too, which made it a pretty cute watch. I wish the CGI was better though, and I really wish the animal character designs were...not That, haha.

Cinderella (Lily's version)

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Not my favourite live action Cinderella adaptation - that would be Ever After - but it was cute. I saw it at the cinema with my best friend and like, if The Little Mermaid was my Disney movie growing up, Cinderella was hers. Seeing her reactions to it probably made the movie for me in a lot of ways, because she burst into tears during the dress transformation, haha, but the costumes and overall art design were also pretty great.

Alice in Wonderland (Mia's version)

never seen | want to see | the worst | bad | whatever | not my thing | good | great | favorite | masterpiece

Okay, even putting the Johnny Depp of it all aside, I was like 19 when this came out and genuinely pretty hyped for it. I wasn't entirely out of my card carrying Tim Burton fan emo teen era, haha, but this movie definitely contributed to me putting a lot of that part of my personality behind me. I remember hating it at the time, from the budget-video-game CGI to the wonky plot to the performances, and I think my opinion has softened over time, but - - yes. I can't say I'm a fan of this one at all.

Ask me about movies

[writingjjfics]

JJ babysitting your little sister

~ Headcanon

Your parents are on a business trip and you have a long working day yourself.

You asked JJ to babysit your 4-year-old sister Mia for the day because the usual babysitter is sick.

JJ and Mia have a strong bond because you've been in a relationship with JJ for 6 years now so JJ has always been a part of Mia's life.

Your parents are often away because of their jobs so JJ and you are basically Mia's second parents.

JJ calls her princess or cupcake.

This would be the first time that JJ would be fully responsible for Mia for an entire day.

JJ is nervous AF.

He asked John B and Pope to join him but they said no.

In some way, JJ wants to prove himself to you that he is capable of being a father one day.

He wants to do fun things with Mia outside, like going to the beach but is too afraid to lose sight of her.

So they stay at home.

They play games, watch Disney movies, do each other's hair, bake cookies, dance silly, and sing karaoke.

JJ updates you all day long via WhatsApp what they are up to

and he spams his Instagram story with videos.

So during your break at work, you see tons of pictures and videos of them together.

Your heart melts every time.

For dinner, JJ takes Mia with him to the Wreck.

Kie has a shift that night so she can keep an extra eye on them.

JJ and Mia are joking around the entire time.

When they get home it's bedtime for Mia.

JJ helps her get ready.

Mia gets really stubborn at night so it's a real struggle for JJ to get her in bed.

He eventually tricks her by agreeing on making pancakes in the morning.

And she wants a self-made bedtime story.

So JJ tells her about how he met you.

Mia starts to snore quietly so JJ ​​leaves the room relieved but satisfied.

It was a long day, so when JJ reached the couch he fell asleep in an instant

You come home an hour later.

Seeing your blond-haired boyfriend peacefully sleeping on the couch.

You smile and give him a kiss on his forehead.

When he wakes up he tells you about his day and you can see the enthusiasm and sparkles in his eyes.

After some cuddles you both fall asleep on the couch, not having the energy to go upstairs to your bedroom.